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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26836903">How Jon &amp; Damian Befriended Some Supervillains While Saving the World</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/LokkisonD/pseuds/LokkisonD'>LokkisonD</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>DC Playlist [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Batman - All Media Types, Justice League - All Media Types</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>F/F, F/M, M/M, bruce shows up once OOPS, damian and jon are dumb and in love, im actually a big scarecrow fan sorry crane, im in love w selina kyle and she'll show up more in the series, jon and damian are very in love i love them, my oc accidentally became super important, punchline and harley dont hate each other, retagging because im better at this now, this went from a sorta crack fic to, waaay more serious shit</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-05</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-11-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 12:20:39</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Not Rated</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>14</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>45,438</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26836903</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/LokkisonD/pseuds/LokkisonD</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>It all started because Batman and Superman had to go off world. </p><p>When asked about the Great Roadtrip From Hell, Damian would always blame those two. After all, if they hadn't left then Damian wouldn't have been bored enough to listen to his dumb best friend's even dumber idea that kickstarted the whole mess.</p><p>Jon disagrees.</p><p>If you ask Jon, he'd tell you Damian's a liar and they had both had the time of their lives.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Clark Kent/Lois Lane, Joker (DCU)/Alexis Kaye, Jonathan Kent/Damian Wayne, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Oswald Cobblepot/Edward Nygma, Pamela Isley/Harleen Quinzel, Selina Kyle/Bruce Wayne, hinted Diana (Wonder Woman)/Clark Kent/Bruce Wayne</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series:</b></td><td>DC Playlist [1]</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Series URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/series/1964965</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>30</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>129</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. All Out Of Love</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>ok look i had this idea from that Lego Supervillians game and I was playing with my sister and we were superboy and robin and we kind of just drove around and helped the villians and beat up cops so i was sitting there like "huh...what if these boys rlly ran off to help some villains just for fun because bats and supes are off world" and then did this. will this get attention? no. am i still gonna write this entire thing because i have no impulse control? yes. i also rlly hope this posts correctly 😬</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p> </p><p>"This is a terrible idea. An idea that will get us grounded from everything for years!" A voice hisses softly in the alleyway. Two figures, both rather small in size, wait at the mouth of the alleyway at nearly three in the morning. <br/>
<br/>
The second figure snorts and glares toward the first one. "What? You chickening out after whining about how bored you are?" he asks with a taunting lilt in his voice. The first boy sputters with red cheeks in the dark. <br/>
<br/>
"No," he nearly snarls, "I just don't see how we can be considered heroes if we're about to steal a car!" <br/>
<br/>
The second boy shushes him when a man walks along the sidewalk with a confident stride. He's dressed expensively and the expression on his face as he talks on the phone can only be described as smarmy. The tone of voice he uses to the person over the phone is condecending and he seems to be mainly humouring them.<br/>
<br/>
The second boy shoots the first a smug grin and straightens from where they've been crouched in wait. "Bingo, baby. That car looks sweet, too," he murmurs. The first boy shakes his head. <br/>
<br/>
"This is stupid, Jon," he says to the night air. Jon turns and throws his arm around his friend's shoulders with a beaming grin. <br/>
<br/>
"Come on, Dami, live a little! This dude's clearly got the money and I'm almost positive we've seen him on your dad's files. He's some kind of crime lord, probably."<br/>
<br/>
Damian scrubs his hand over his face and nods. "Alright, but when we get caught I'm blaming you." <br/>
<br/>
Jon snickers because it wouldn't matter if they blamed each other; they'd both get grounded because they "knew better" and should "think for themselves". Obviously, Jon muses, they thought for themselves. They both knew how to make the morally right decision but sometimes it was more fun to push each other into doing something risky. <br/>
<br/>
And damn this is risky. <br/>
<br/>
Jon peeks around the corner again and jerks his head toward the man. Damian sighs and nods once. Despite his protests Jon can see an excited gleam in his eyes.<br/>
<br/>
When it seems like the sidewalk is clear, Jon bolts from the alleyway and toward the man with frantic eyes. <br/>
<br/>
"Oh my God, you gotta help me, man! There's some fucking weirdos dressed up as clowns chasin' me! Please, call the police!" Jon gasps out. The man looks startled but nods once as he hangs up. He looks almost pleased as he presses the button.<br/>
<br/>
While he dials, Jon shuffles closer to the man in a facade of fear. His eyes meet where he knows Damian's eye are and shoots the boy a smirk before tipping his head up to meet the man's eyes with a faux, grateful look while he speaks with the police.<br/>
<br/>
The man meets his eyes and pulls the phone away from his ear. "What's your name, kid?" he asks. Jon's mind blanks. They can't give out their real names so he picks the next best thing. <br/>
<br/>
"Jason." Jon blurts. He thinks he hears a muffled snort from underneath the car and the boy has to fight down a smile. <br/>
<br/>
The man nods and repeats it into the phone. Then, he says, "Did you get a good look at them?" Jon shakes his head and looks to the ground. While it makes him look embarrassed in reality he's wondering where the fuck Damian is.<br/>
<br/>
"Er, no. I'm just visiting and thought the shit they say about Gotham was just, you know, to get tourists here. As soon as I saw them coming after me I ran," Jon says.<br/>
<br/>
Finally, as the man begins to repeat that into the phone, hands grip his ankles and pull. The man shouts in surprise and tips forward hard. As soon as he's on the ground Jon gives him a swift kick to the head. He's out cold instantly. <br/>
<br/>
Damian crawls out from underneath the dark purple car and raises an eyebrow to Jon while he hangs up the man's phone. <br/>
<br/>
"Nice work, Jason," he teases. Jon face feel his face heating and rolls his eyes. <br/>
<br/>
"Shut up." <br/>
<br/>
Damian snickers and crouches to dig through the man's pockets. "If you're Todd does that make me Grayson?" <br/>
<br/>
Jon scoffs and smirks when he comes across a few twenties in the man's other pocket. He then looks to the other dark haired boy and says, "Not a chance in hell, Dami. You're more like Jason then you wanna admit."<br/>
<br/>
The boy sneers at Jon and swats him as he stands with the car's keys in hand. Jon gets to his feet as well and pockets the twenties with a grin. Damian unlocks the doors and slips into the driver's seat easily.<br/>
<br/>
It's comfortable. The seats are leather, the interior sleek and new. When the car starts up Jon flicks through the radio channels with interest. Damian pulls away from the side of the sidewalk and onto the street.<br/>
<br/>
"I wish I could carry your smile in my heart,<br/>
<br/>
for times when my life feels so low," <br/>
<br/>
The radio croons. Damian groans as he registers the tune as he makes a right at the light. Jon falls back against his seat and laughs hysterically until he's hiccupping. Damian's face is tight with annoyance as the song carries on. <br/>
<br/>
"Do you know how many times I've had to listen to Grayson sing this? Do you?" Damian hisses. Jon looks over at the other teen and snickers. <br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, 'cause I've been there for five of those times," he crows as he turns the volume up higher. Damian slaps his hand away from the system and glares at him briefly before his eyes are flitting back to the road in front of them.<br/>
<br/>
Jon leans closer to the other boy. "I'm all out of lo-ve, I'm so lost without you," he sings. Damian protests furiously, using one hand to push Jon's face away from his own even while his lips twitch in amusement. <br/>
<br/>
"Stop it!"<br/>
<br/>
"I know you were right; believing for so lo-ong!" Jon continues.<br/>
<br/>
Damian can't help laughing as he makes another right. "Oh, shut up! Your caterwauling is worse than Graysons!" he spits. There's no vicious bite to the words so Jon rockets his body back with an overdramatic gasp.<br/>
<br/>
"Damian Wayne don't you deny it; you lo-ove my singing!" Jon chirps. Damian curls his lip to bare his teeth in a mockery of a sneer.<br/>
<br/>
He reaches over to smack Jon on the shoulder. "Don't decieve yourself, you idiot. You sound like a wounded walrus." the boy grumbles. Jon bursts into another fit of laughter and presses back over toward the other boy. <br/>
<br/>
"You love me." Jon says confidently. They lean against each other while the car eats up the road ahead of them. They're not actually sure where they're going but neither want to head home.<br/>
<br/>
Damian never denies Jon's words even once as they drive through Gotham.</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Highway to Hell</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Things are quickly heating up for these boys</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i got excited so im posting another chapter super early. i have lots of plans for this fic boy oh boy</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The car rides smoothly. While Damian directs them around the city, Jon twists in his seat and pushes himself on his knees to peer in the back seat of the car. There's a few dufflebags and a grocery bag from CVS on the floor. A jean jacket hangs halfway off the left seat behind the driver's seat.<br/>
<br/>
Jon reaches back and snags the CVS bag. It only contains a water bottle and a few beef jerky packs so Jon tosses it to the side with a snort. "You'd think a guy with a car like this would get some better snacks."<br/>
<br/>
Damian glances over at him briefly but doesn't repond. Instead, Jon yelps when the car jerks to the left suddenly and grabs at the headrest to steady himself. When he's not in danger of tipping into the back area of the car, Jon turns to glare at the green eyed teen.<br/>
<br/>
"Asshole," Jon growls. He turns back to the closest dufflebag to grab it and jerks the zipper to the right to open the bag fully. His brows furrow in confusion when all he can see is a few changes of women's clothes and a pair of ratty boxers Jon doesn't want to think about touching. When he checks the next one it has a few sweatpants and hoodies. There's even a few face masks and scarves.<br/>
<br/>
Abandoning the bags, Jon sits back down in his seat properly and faces the front. Damian jerks his head back toward the back and raises his eyebrow. "Anything good?" he asks. Jon shrugs uncertainly.<br/>
<br/>
"I guess. He's got some women's clothes, maybe his girlfriend's. Kept a few other clothes in the other one for himself too, I think." Jon tells him. Damian wrinkles his nose and leans back in his seat.<br/>
<br/>
They drive in silence for a few moments while Madonna chirps about taking a holiday over the radio. Then, Jon turns to Damian with a slightly troubled look. "Do you think that guy will tell the police who I am? Like, do you think he'll know who I am?" Jon asks.<br/>
<br/>
Damian barks out a laugh and tells him, "Don't flatter yourself, farmboy. Supposed crimelord or not; if the lunatics you fight every other week can't recognize you as Superboy then that dude, who has never seen you before, is not going to connect the dots."<br/>
<br/>
Jon's tensed shoulders relax at the words and he shoots Damian a smile. Damian lets his own lips curl up in response before he turns his eyes back to the road in front of them.<br/>
<br/>
"So," Damian drawls, "we stole a car. Now what?" Jon chews his lip uncertainly for a few seconds until he finally flits his eyes back to his friend's face.<br/>
<br/>
"I really don't know. I didn't think that far ahead," Jon admits with reddening cheeks.<br/>
<br/>
Damian rolls his eyes and grumbles, "Of course you didn't," to which Jon smacks his arm in reponse. "Pick somewhere, Jon," Damian urges.<br/>
<br/>
Jon leans back in his seat again and crosses his arms. "I dunno. Just pick somewhere fun to go."<br/>
<br/>
"Jon that's not-" Damian can't finish his sentence before there are sirens blaring behind them. Jon whips around in his seat and scowls at the sight,<br/>
<br/>
There's a Gotham Police Department patrol car behind them. The lights on top of the car are bright as they flash in the dim area of the street. It's obvious they're there for them and Jon's not sure what they're going to do now. He'd been hoping they wouldn't find them this fast but it makes sense since they stole this flashier looking car.<br/>
<br/>
Damian runs his tongue over his teeth in frustration as he looks through the rear-view mirror. "Son of a bitch..." Jon blows out a breath through his nose as Damian pulls over to the curb. Other cars pass by casually when they leave traffic.<br/>
<br/>
The police car pulls over behind them and Damian turns to Jon with an angry look. "Remember how I said you wouldn't be recognized," he asks coolly. It's a rhetorical question but Jon swallows and nods anyway. Damian grits his teeth and slaps the steering wheel. "I'm the son of Bruce Wayne. They're gonna recognize me for sure." Damian continues.<br/>
<br/>
They don't get a chance to even try and at least grab something from the back seat to disguise Damian with because an officer knocks on the window. With one last glare to Jon, Damian rolls down the window and raises an eyebrow at the blonde woman outside the car.<br/>
<br/>
"Can we help you?" Damian asks. Jon watches the officer shine the flashlight through the window to get a good look at them. A trimmed eyebrow raises as recognition as she looks over Damian.<br/>
<br/>
The woman smirks. "Yeah, kid; about an hour ago a car just like this one was reported stolen," the officer says. Damian gives her a sneer.<br/>
<br/>
"That's absolutely awful but has nothing to do with us," Damian states, annoyance becoming more prominent.<br/>
<br/>
The officer's lips curl up even further as she bares her teeth slightly. She obviously doesn't like either Damian's attitude (which was understandable) or Waynes in general with the way she looks at Damian, Jon notices.<br/>
<br/>
The woman watches Damian for another moment before her expression smooths out. "Well, we'll just have to see, won't we. My partner is running the plates right now, so why don't you hand over your license and registration in the meantime?" she says.<br/>
<br/>
Damian's hand lifts slightly as if he's ready to crawl through the window and fight her but Jon places his own hand on the boy's wrist and gives the officer a bland smile.<br/>
<br/>
"Of course, of course," he reassures.<br/>
<br/>
Damian looks to him in confusion but Jon only opens the glove compartment and rifles through it. He finds the man's license and lets his eyes flit over the card briefly.<br/>
<br/>
Andrew Carter. The picture definately shows the man they'd stolen the ride from and the picture he'd seen on Bruce's computer. Fourty-seven, brown hair, and blue eyes. From New Orleans, apparently.<br/>
<br/>
Something about the picture feels wrong but Jon shakes it off and reaches over Damian to hand it to the woman. He makes sure his fingers are just short and lets the card flutter from his fingers.<br/>
<br/>
The woman gives him an unimpressed look and Jon's lips quirk up into a sheepish smile. "Sorry about that," he says innocently. The woman rolls her eyes and crouches.<br/>
<br/>
Jon throws himself back into the passenger seat and slaps Damian on the arm. "Drive, idiot, drive!" Jon hisses. Damian pushes the gearshift into drive and floors it. The woman pops back up on her feet but it's a second too late because the car is already beginning to race down the street.<br/>
<br/>
Jon pulls at his seatbelt frantically. Maybe this really wasn't such a good idea. Letting Damian drive the car as fast as he wants sounds like a death wish and a half.<br/>
<br/>
The sirens start up again behind them and Jon whips around to peek at where the car is. It's closer than they're both comfortable with already, so Damian slows slightly to make a hard left. A shriek higher than Jon ever wants to admit fills the car as he slams into the door of the car. He hears the dufflebags in the back hit the side of the car as well.<br/>
<br/>
"Fuck, Dami, watch it!" Jon shouts over the sirens and Highway to Hell howling on the radio.<br/>
<br/>
Damian's eyes frequently flit up to the rear-view mirror to check where the police car is. He snarls, "You got us into this fucking mess, Jon, so I can throw you into as many fucking doors as I want!"<br/>
<br/>
Jon rolls his eyes but can't dispute it. As if to demonstrate his point, Damian makes a sharp right around a corner just as another police car roars up the street behind them to join the original one. Jon finds himself being choked by his seatbelt.<br/>
<br/>
They swerve down the streets. If this were in daylight it'd be so much more crowded so Jon's thankful they have clearer streets to drive down.<br/>
<br/>
Jon peeks back at the cars and curses. There's a third car, now, and he's starting to get a little more nervous. "We gotta ditch the car and get the fuck outta here, Dami." Jon says.<br/>
<br/>
Damian makes another right and shakes his head. "Where the hell are we going to go? That woman saw me so we can't go home," he argues. Jon reaches over to dig through Damian's pants pocket suddenly to retrieve his friend's phone.<br/>
<br/>
After he taps in the password, Jon ignores Damian's tension filled eyes on him and looks to the map app on his phone.<br/>
<br/>
"The closest place around here we could effectively hide out in is the Iceberg Lounge. Right, left, right, right, then straight ahead." Damian's lips purse in distaste.<br/>
<br/>
"That's owned by Cobblepot. It's going to look worse if we go straight to a known criminal," Damian replies.<br/>
<br/>
Jon shakes his head. "We need somewhere to hide out. We can't go to the cave, we can't go to your house, either. Kent farm is too far away and I'd like to keep my identity hidden for a bit longer. Might as well bring the police to the Lounge as a distraction, right?" Jon says.<br/>
<br/>
Damian looks back at the police cars one more time and nods once while his fingers clutch at the steering tightly. Jon bites his lip as Damian speeds up down the road and prepares to make the upcoming right turn.<br/>
<br/>
"I'm sorry I got us in trouble like this. I won't lie and say I'm not having fun but...sorry I got you in trouble like that."<br/>
<br/>
Damian doesn't look over at Jon but he does reach over his right hand and slides it into Jon's own. Jon smiles when the boy interlocks their fingers to squeeze gently. Then, Damian pulls his hand back and makes another left.<br/>
<br/>
Jon eyes the cars again. They're lagging a bit which is better than expected. Damian makes the next two rights easily and quickly pulls into an alleyway. Jon unbuckles his seatbelt, as does Damian, and they push open the doors.<br/>
<br/>
"Grab the duffle with the clothes," Damian hisses.<br/>
<br/>
"What? Why?!" Jon asks, baffled. His brows are furrowed in confusion.<br/>
<br/>
Damian rolls his eyes and slams the car door. "In case we need to change. Just grab it!" he snaps. Jon clenches his jaw and climbs back in the passenger seat to reach over it and grab the closer dufflebag with his fingers.<br/>
<br/>
Once he's out of the car, Damian grabs Jon's wrist and they bolt as the sirens get louder. It grates on his nerves and Jon's jaw tenses even further than it was before.<br/>
<br/>
The two teenagers bolt down the alleyway to come out on the other side and turn down the sidewalk. A police car behind them blares its siren as it turns down the street they had earlier and Damian's running speeds up.<br/>
<br/>
Jon looks up ahead and brightens considerably. The gates of the Iceberg Lounge are just ahead. The sign is still lit in the night air and that means Cobblepot hasn't been investigated since the last time they checked up on him.<br/>
<br/>
Damian leads them around the back of the building through the full parking lot. They round the back corner of the building and find themselves staring up at a collection of windows that are higher than they'd like.<br/>
<br/>
"Get us up to that unlocked one," Damian demands as he points to the far right, top window.<br/>
<br/>
Jon pants from their quick getaway but manages to bow mockingly to the Arab boy. He's not sure how his partner knows that specific window is unlocked but he won't question it. Sometimes, he just knows and it impresses the hell out of Jon (not that he'd ever stroke that boy's ego more than it is).<br/>
<br/>
He slides an arm around Damian's waist tightly while Damian's own arms wind around his shoulder's securely. A hot flush rises to Jon's face and butterflies erupt in his stomach at the touch. The boy shakes it off in favor of launching them up in the air smoothly and guiding them to the right.<br/>
<br/>
Damian unhooks his arms and reaches out to pull the window up. Jon snags the boy by his shirt when he begins to lean too far for Jon's comfort. Damian shoots Jon a little smirk that has Jon's heart pounding frantically even after the boy looks away and fully pushes the window up.<br/>
<br/>
The smaller of the two climbs through first. He drops in the room smoothly and beckons Jon closer with an outstretched hand. Although he doesn't need it Jon takes Damian's hand and slides through the window. Once his feet hit the floor the two turn.<br/>
<br/>
The room is dimly lit. The carpet is a soothing burgundy and the walls are black. There's a fancy, leather chair and a desk to the left of them that's cluttered with papers. Along the far left wall is a wooden shelf filled with books and little trinkets. There's a wilting plant as well.<br/>
<br/>
In front of the desk are two soft looking armchairs. Jon wanders closer to press on the seat cushion and finds himself flopping down on the chair in no time. Damian looks around the room with suspicious eyes.<br/>
<br/>
"Cold as hell in here," Damian comments. Jon shrugs and stands again to seat himself on the desk edge. He peers at a picture that's in a golden frame. His eyebrows shoot up and he snags it in his hands with a little smile.<br/>
<br/>
He looks up to Damian and says, "Guess this really is Cobblepot's office." When Damian looks over Jon turns the picture around. Damian's eyebrows raise the slightest bit but looks away to rifle through Cobblepot's filing cabinet near the door.<br/>
<br/>
"Good for him, I suppose. Wouldn't be my first choice of lover," Damian murmurs. Jon snorts and sets the frame containing a picture of one Edward Nygma pressing a kiss to a sour, but fond, looking Cobblepot's cheek.<br/>
<br/>
The doorknob to the office jiggles and Damian is at Jon's side in an instant with a hard expression. The door slides open and both boys pause in surprise at who comes through first.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh." Damian starts.<br/>
<br/>
"Shit." Jon breathes.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Whew, a lot happened here, huh? </p><p>Please let me know about any spelling or grammar errors!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Interlude-Wayne Manor</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>let's take a little peek back at the manor, shall we?</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I couldn't quite get the hang of writing Alfred &amp; struggled with making his pov formal (ex. the master damian stuff) or casual since hes basically their grandfather so i tried to do both. hes actually rlly hard for me to write but hopefully ill get better since we'll be seeing him regularly in these interludes</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>The fact that he hadn't heard Master Damian creep from his room in the early hours was alarming to say the least. Usually the boy would wander from his room in the morning to sit at the kitchen island and watch Alfred prepare breakfast with keen eyes.</p><p>He was willing to believe that the boy had merely slept in after a long night. He knew sometimes that happened when Master Bruce had the time for a quick phone call or young Jonathan Kent climbed through the window for a impromptu sleepover that consisted of Mr. Kent guiding Master Damian through his favorite video games.<br/>
Alfred's eyebrows shoot up, however, when an hour later Damian still hasn't come from his room. It's possible the boy snuck out with Mr. Kent but that was rare. He wasn't likely in the cave at this hour, shocking as it seems.</p><p>The elder man sets down the plates of food at the table as Master Dick stumbles into the room. His eyes brighten as he notices breakfast is ready, just as it is every morning, and a steaming mug of coffee is placed beside it.</p><p>"Thanks, Alf," he says as he slides into his seat with a yawn. Alfred merely smiles and looks to the door with a heavy heart. He has a bad feeling about the absence of their youngest. </p><p>Next to wander down is Miss. Cassandra. She takes in the room with sleepy eyes and looks to where Alfred pours a half cup of coffee for her and sets it in her usual spot. Cassandra brushes past Dick with a shy smile.</p><p>Dick reaches out an arm and Cassandra wraps the older man in a one-armed side hug before she's seating herself as well. The two eat in relative silence until Master Tim ambles to the table with an exhausted expression.</p><p>"Oh, dear, Master Tim; have you slept?" Alfred asks worriedly. The boy looks pale and the shadows under his eyes have grown the slightest bit through the night. Tim shrugs and takes his seat.</p><p>"A lil' bit....nightmares, y'know?" Tim murmurs. Alfred's lips tighten as he sets a mug of steaming coffee in front of the teen.<br/>
Alfred places a gentle hand on Tim's shoulder and squeezes lightly. Tim looks to him and frowns in a way that makes Alfred want to wrap the boy in the spare blankets and keep him safe in his room for an eternity.</p><p>Alas, the Wayne clan are stubborn and would never let him get close to doing so. They're all infamously stubborn.</p><p>The elder man releases Tim's shoulder and lets the three (although it's more two and Miss Cassandra's sleepy mumblings) chat softly. Alfred looks to the door again worriedly. Master Damian is most certainly not in the house but it's too soon to tell if it's an emergency situation or the boy is just out with Jonathan.</p><p>The minutes pass rather slowly as Alfred cleans the pans he used to cook with. Eventually, Master Jason stumbles into the kitchen with a glare and a snarl on his lips. Alfred doesn't let the amusement show on his face when he sees the shine of drool on the man's face that tells him it was most likely Titus that woke him rather than his own internal clock.</p><p>Jason makes a detour to pass by Alfred with a tired smirk. "Morning, Alfie," he says. Alfred's lips twitch and he nods toward the table.<br/>
<br/>
"Good morning, Master Jason. Your food is getting cold, so I advise you to eat quickly," Alfred says. Jason shrugs lazily and snags the coffee pot and grabs a bigger mug, one of Bruces', to pour himself a bigger cup of coffee.</p><p>Alfred tidies the counter and finally turns to where the children have all taken a seat and are teasing one another. He clears his throat and, when they look over at him, asks, "Have any of you seen Master Damian this morning? I confess I find myself rather worried as he hasn't shown up yet."</p><p>Master Dick freezes and his mouth drops open when he looks to the empty seat where Damian normally sits. A worried glint enters his eyes as he stares at the empty chair. Tim snorts into his coffee and shoots the table a vicious grin. </p><p>"I knew it was too quiet," he comments. Master Jason barks out a hoarse laugh through his mouthful of eggs and points his fork to his brother. </p><p>"Oh, you're so damn right. It's so quiet without the demon spawn here, Replacement," Jason crows. Tim shoots Jason a glare at the name but his smirk never dies down. Miss Cassandra's lips are pursed and she looks faintly guilty.</p><p>She looks up after a moment and holds her mug between her two hands to say, "He....left. Caught him...with...Jo-Jon." </p><p>Dick's shoulders drop with relief at the words and he leans back in his chair. "Wish he'd told me that. God, that kid is gonna give me grey hairs," Dick mutters as he takes another swig of coffee. Jason gives a thumbs down to the air and scowls playfully. </p><p>"Boo, not enough drama," he drawls. Tim rolls his eyes and leans back in his chair. Alfred shoots the group a tight smile at those words. This day isn't off to a good start and the elder man is feeling slightly unbalanced.</p><p>He claps his hands. "Well, I'm very glad that's cleared up. I'm sure he'll return home soon for breakfast leftovers."</p><p>His heart is heavy, however. Something tells him things are only going to get worse from here and when he meets Cassandra's eyes he knows she's feeling it too.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Next chapter will be longer &amp; include our boys again, along with some new faces to this fic (which im hyped for)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Sway</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Back to the boys &amp; some new friends</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>theres some iffy stuff about cars later and idk how true it is because i did a 3 second google search so pretend thats real. i rlly appreciate the kudos im glad some of yall enjoy this</p><p>pls lemme know about mistakes bc i read all my stuff and miss a lot still</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Selina Kyle stands in the doorway. Her eyebrows shoot up in surprise for a moment then lower while her red, glossy lips curl up into a smirk. She's wearing a black, tube top mini dress with silver sequins decorating it so it sparkles strikingly under even the dim lights of the office. Her black pump heels barely make a sound against the carpet as she sashays closer to the two boys. Cobblepot follows her in with a grumble around his cigar.<br/>
<br/>
He's dressed like he always is; a well fitted tuxedo with his signature monacle. His suit jacket is navy blue this time while his top hat matches it perfectly. The ribbon wrapped around the torso of the hat. He wears a black overcoat as well that matches his black shoes. Lastly, Cobblepot's hair is tied back in a low ponytail and lays casually on his shoulder.<br/>
<br/>
His eyes narrow when he spots the two boys and he looks to Selina with a suspicious glint when he notices her pleased expression. Before he can speak, the brunette woman lets herself fall into an armchair and points to Damian.<br/>
<br/>
"What are you doing here, Damian?" the woman asks. Damian crosses his arms over his chest and hunches the slightest bit. Jon bumps the boy with his own shoulder and gives Selina a guilty smile.<br/>
<br/>
"We're in a spot of trouble right now so we figured this would be the best place to, y'know, hide," Jon explains. Selina's expression turns from pleased to delighted at those words.<br/>
<br/>
Cobblepot puffs out a breath of smoke and uses his cigar to point to both boys. "Wanna tell me who these brats that've decided my office is a place of refuge are, Sellie?" Cobblepot asks (demands, rather). Selina nods and stands to put her hands on an embarrassed looking Damian's shoulders.<br/>
<br/>
"This, darling bird, is Damian; my son. This is his friend, Jon Kent," Selina introduces. Damian lets her run her fingers through his hair delicately. She and Bruce are the only ones that can get away with touching his hair without retaliation although there's usually more complaints when Bruce does it.<br/>
<br/>
Cobblepot's eyes light up with recognition and says, "Ah, Sellie's talked about you an awful lot. And you," Cobblepot pauses to point at Jon. Jon jolts in surprise but stands a bit straighter. "You Lois Lane's kid?" he asks.<br/>
<br/>
Jon nods awkwardly. He wasn't expecting Gotham's most notorious Underworld boss to actually know about him or his mother. Cobblepot laughs as he puffs out another ring of smoke from his cigar. Jon is fascinated at the sound when he realizes that he really sounds like a bird of sorts.<br/>
<br/>
"That woman wrote one of the most biting articles on me I've ever read. I mean, that girl really hates my guts," Cobblepot says with a grin on his face.<br/>
<br/>
Jon's jaw drops. He generally didn't read his mom's writings, found most of them on rather boring topics. This, however, might change his mind.<br/>
<br/>
Selina bursts into laughter while she perches at the edge of Cobblepot's desk with her arm around Damian. "Oh, I remember that! I've never seen this man more shaken up than when Lane made that piece," Selina says in amusement.<br/>
<br/>
Cobblepot shrugs and makes his way to the chair at the desk. Jon, Selina, and Damian all turn to face him when he spreads out his hands as he sits with a sigh.<br/>
<br/>
"So; what can I do for you, kids?" Cobblepot asks. Damian blows out a breath through his nose and jerks his thumb toward Jon with a scowl.<br/>
<br/>
"We're in a spot of trouble with the police right now thanks to that idiot and we needed somewhere to hide for a moment," Damian says. Jon makes an offended noise and turns to Damian increduously.<br/>
<br/>
He points at Damian accusingly. "You can't say shit! You're the one that agreed to do it. If you didn't want to steal that car then you could've went home!" Jon sputters. Damian curls his lip into a sneer and crosses his arms again.<br/>
<br/>
"Without me you probably would've gotten arrested within seconds, Jon. And of course I'll blame you; I told you if we got into trouble I'm blaming your stupid ass for this moronic idea!" Damian shouts. Jon rolls his eyes and shoves at Damian petuantly.<br/>
<br/>
Selina holds up her hands and the two teenagers fall silent. She asks, "So you two stole a car just off the street?" she questions. Damian and Jon nod in unison and Selina breaks out into laughter again. "I can't wait to tell Brucie you're beginning to take after me," she continues.<br/>
<br/>
Damian smirks at that. Bruce would get that pinched expression on his face and he'd look both pissed off and impressed at the same time. Jon had seen that expression exactly once when Damian and he had tried mattress sledding down the Batcave steps only for both of them to fall straight into the water below. They'd been fine but Bruce hadn't like the thought of them not being able to get back up to safety easily, especially since Jon hadn't had great control over his powers yet. That had led to the two of them being grounded while Clark and Bruce installed ladders around the the cave.<br/>
<br/>
This would yield much worse results but Bruce's expressions would hopefully make it all worth it.<br/>
<br/>
Cobblepot takes another drag from his cigar. He looks between the two with renewed interest and leans back in his chair. "So long as you don't cause any trouble then I suppose you could hang around."<br/>
<br/>
Selina gives the man a grateful look. The police will undoubtedly knock down the front doors but her partner in crime is willing to let her little ones stay for a moment of peace. She tucks it carefully away in the back of her mind to pay back his generosity (maybe in the form of that Walton Ford painting he was so fond of).<br/>
<br/>
"Let's go, kits. How would you two like to play poker, mh?" Selina suggests with a sharp toothed grin. Damian's eyes light up and Jon laughs nervously. His poker face is shit and both Selina and Damian know that. Regardless, he won't say anything to dim the excited look Damian wears.<br/>
<br/>
Damian looks back to Cobblepot with a thoughtful look on his face. "Pleasure to have met you," he says as they leave. Jon only waves and they step through the door. Cobblepot shoos them out and Selina places a gentle hand at both their backs as they walk straight in the middle of a casino.<br/>
<br/>
The balcony area extends to the right of them that reveals doors that have guards who stand by them. There are two men with neutral expressions and guns in their grips outside Cobblepot's office. There's a railing that Damian holds as they wander around that second floor area where men and women gamble away their money to one another and to machines to test their luck. The smell of smoke from cigars and cigarettes is overwhelming. It's exciting. He's never been anywhere like this. His mom and dad would have a heart attack if they found him here.<br/>
<br/>
It's chilly in the room and when Jon peers over the edge of the second floor he finds out why. Literal icebergs stand tall in both sides of a little pool area. In front of that is a little stage with a quality microphone.<br/>
<br/>
A broad shouldered man with bright, orange hair and the strangest purple suit stands before the microphone. The color is nice, Jon thinks, but the green musical notes and bowtie are an odd choice. The man's hat matches in color only to have a green ribbon around it and a feather sticking out from the back of the accessory. Jon can see white cufflinks with a black musical note on both wrists, while the man's eyes are covered by what seems to be white bandages with, again, musical quarter notes.<br/>
<br/>
His voice is soothing and the people in the crowd obviously think so as well. They all dance and twirl amongst themselves with grins on their faces, dresses flaring and shoes tapping against the floor to both the man's voice and the band's rhythmic playing.<br/>
<br/>
"I can hear the sounds of violins,<br/>
Long before it begins,<br/>
Make me thrill as only you know how<br/>
Sway me smooth, sway me now," the man croons into the microphone. Jon finds himself humming along with a giddy feeling in his chest. His legs and hips move of their own accord to dance in time with the tune echoing around his brain.<br/>
<br/>
"Other dancers may be on the floor<br/>
Dear, but my eyes will see only you,<br/>
Only you have that magic technique<br/>
When we sway I go weak."<br/>
<br/>
Fingers snap in front of his face and Jon blinks in confusion, trance broken. Selina looks amused and a neatly trimmed eyebrow raises.<br/>
<br/>
"Back with us, darling?" Selina questions. Jon nods quickly with cheeks fire engine red with embarrassment. Damian watches with narrowed eyes that soon flit down to where the man sings. The pull is lesser, now, and Jon feels like he can safely ignore it now.<br/>
<br/>
Damian raises his eyebrow. "What was that about?" he asks. Selina brings Jon closer this time and points with a beautifully painted dark blue nail down to where the man begins to dance with his own song as well. The crowd is dancing oddly in sync and Jon gets a sinking feeling in his chest at that.<br/>
<br/>
"That, my dears, is Dennis Prowell. He's also known as Music Meister. He controls you with his singing. He's really a lovely man other than that and his persisting dream of ruling the world," Selina informs them.<br/>
<br/>
Damian frowns and drifts to Jon's side. He grips the taller boy's hand with only a slight flushing of his cheeks and glances to Jon's dumbstruck face that's a result of his actions. "Someone has make sure you don't make yourself look stupid again," Damian mutters and Jon manages to nod shyly. Selina's expression softens but she doesn't interupt. Instead, the brunette urges them forward to the poker table.<br/>
<br/>
The trio make their way toward the back of the area where three men with cigars and suits are dealing around cards. Selina's eyes light up and she ushers them closer.<br/>
"Marco! Wonderful to see you again!" Selina greets eagerly. A man with dark hair and even darker skin looks up and immediately groans at the sight that greets him.<br/>
Selina's lips push out in a pout when the man says, "No, Selina, we're not playing with you again. You keep fucking robbing us!" Selina places her hand over her chest and steps back with a wounded expression.<br/>
<br/>
At first, Jon assumes that Selina's a better player than them and they don't want to include her. The woman's next words make things clearer, however.<br/>
<br/>
"Don't be such sourpusses! It's not my fault that you boys misplaced your money and it fell right into my claws," she says with a teeth filled grin. It feels more like a threat than anything else, Jon notices. The man snorts and shakes his head.<br/>
<br/>
"Still a no, Selina," Marco tells her. Selina rolls her eyes and heaves a long suffering sigh that has Damian's eyes filling with amusement. She and Jason were the most dramatic of the family, although Jon privately thought that Damian was up there as well. If he ever told Damian that, well, Jon shudders to think of what would happen to him.<br/>
<br/>
"Fine, you boring, claw-ful people; deal in these two."<br/>
<br/>
Marco's eyebrows shoot up but soon enough his eyes narrow. He's not dumb, and if Selina has someone who looks unassuming playing for her than that means they're either really good and going to take all their money or someone she trusts not to screw her over and take all the money. Maybe both.<br/>
<br/>
The man nods carefully and Jon grins and takes an empty seat. Damian sits in the other empty seat and a tall, bright eyed man next to Jon deals out two more card sets. All Jon can bet in is the stolen money from Andrew. He tosses that in and they begin to play. It's halfway through the game that Jon knows he's going to lose spectacularly and folds before he has to put in another twenty.<br/>
<br/>
The third man, who is all lean muscle and cracking jokes through the entire thing, wins rather easily it seems. The second man grumbles but they watch the third man collect the money and chips with a triumphant smirk.<br/>
<br/>
"Another game?" Damian suggests almost innocently. Jon meets his eyes and his heart rate kicks up at the genuine smile on his friend's lips. Then, he winks.<br/>
<br/>
Jon's face flushes horribly and he looks down at the cards that are being dealt to him. Something about Damian lately has him acting like the idiot the Wayne always labels him as. Makes his heart beat impossibly fast, his face flush, and his words come out jumbled and stuttered.<br/>
<br/>
They both know what it is. Damian knows. Jon knows. Hell, everyone else has got to know by now. Neither of them can find it in them to say anything about it, though.<br/>
<br/>
The second game starts off strong. Everyone at the table is feeling confident. They chatter quietly, Jon and Damian introducing themselves while Selina watches with a keen eye as she sips her margarita carefully.<br/>
<br/>
Marco laughs at another joke the third man tells, cigar wobbling dangerously in his mouth, while a fourth man approaches. The fourth man is rather short but has a broader, more muscled figure.<br/>
<br/>
Damian's eyes skate over the man's form briefly before throwing himself back into the game. He jokes and plays rather admirably. Jon, on the other hand, finds himself eavesdropping since he has his hearing as an advantage. Marco leans toward the other man to listen to the whispered words.<br/>
<br/>
"That Magpie guy intercepted another of our runs. Fifteen of our men are dead, boss," the man murmurs. Jon's eyes narrow at the words. Marco's expression turns dark and he removes his cigar for a moment.<br/>
<br/>
"I'm getting real sick and tired of that fucker," Marco snarls under his breath. Jon folds and leans back in his seat to continue listening. "See if you can get me in contact with Lawton. Tell him we're willing to pay for just some information. If he wants to show off by taking out the man's guards then I'll pay extra. I'm tired of this uppity little shit making a mockery of us," the man continues.<br/>
<br/>
The man nods and turns to be on his way. Marco clears his throat and is back in the game within seconds but his displeased expression is still clear.<br/>
<br/>
Jon taps his fingers on the table idly. Magpie. He swore he'd heard that name before. He didn't know where but alarm bells were going off in his head the more he thought about the name.<br/>
<br/>
The boy snaps from his thoughts when the other men let out groans. Damian is collecting the stray money in his hands while Selina laughs and teases the other players for their loss. Damian shoots Jon a smug smirk and Jon can't resist the urge to flip him off lazily.<br/>
<br/>
It's almost as if the Universe is out to get them because not long after Damian's winnings and they're ready to play a new game that the police burst through the front door with guns drawn. Jon curses and they both duck down despite the odd looks they earn.<br/>
<br/>
Men and women alike shriek at the commotion, scrambling away from the uniformed officers who stride in to search around the area. Cobblepot emerges from his office within seconds and looks down over the railing with a furious look on his face. Jon peeks over to watch the police attempt to make their way up the stairs.<br/>
<br/>
Cobblepot blocks the way with his armed guards behind him. "What exactly is the meaning of this? Storming into my establishment, scaring my patrons, and behaving like brutes," Cobblepot's voice is absolutely dripping with disdain.<br/>
<br/>
A tall, red haired man with oddly colored eyes approaches first. He seems to be the one in charge, and the man says, "We have reason to believe two of our suspects came into this building. You may not even be aware of it. We'd like to search the premises."<br/>
<br/>
Cobblepot laughs and holds his cigar in his hand to blow a cloud of smoke in the man's face. "Officer....?" he trails off expectantly and the man straightens.<br/>
<br/>
"Officer Bryant Stone," he offers. Cobblepot gives him an almost mocking grin and nods.<br/>
<br/>
He replaces his cigar in his mouth and moves closer. "Officer Stone, then. I find it highly insulting that you think two, unknown people could get into my fine establishment without me know. I take careful note of who comes in here and who leaves," Cobblepot says coldly.<br/>
<br/>
Officer Stone's eyes darken and his hand wanders to his hip either as a threat or unconciously. Cobblepot's men ready their own guns at the sight and Cobblepot smiles meanly.<br/>
<br/>
"Well, anyhow, we'd like to search. Just to be sure," Officer Stone says. Cobblepot cocks his head to the side and spreads his arms out.<br/>
<br/>
"Be my guest, ladies and gentlemen. But rest assured if this ever happens again, without a warrant no less, I'll have your heads," Cobblepot says, voice dark with promise. Officer Stone's jaw clenches and he turns back to the collection of uniformed men and women to nod sharply.<br/>
<br/>
Jon looks to where Selina stands and the woman rushes to them before the police can make their way up to this floor to search. "Let's go, kittens," she whispers. Damian nods once and they stand. She hurries them past the table they were just playing poker at and past a few other tables filled with people.<br/>
<br/>
She leads them past someone else's office and further down the balcony. They speed walk past the next two doors and make a left. A shout sounds from below them and Selina meets the eyes of the guard. The woman nods once and steps out of the way.<br/>
<br/>
Selina pushes open the door and guides them in. Then, she locks it behind them. Jon notices that it's a storage room with boxes filled with casino chips, dishes, and oddly legal items. Though it makes sense that they'd keep those things hidden away for times like this.<br/>
<br/>
"What are we gonna do?!" Jon hisses. Selina soothes him easily with a few hair strokes and points to the window.<br/>
<br/>
She tells them, "We'll go out that. There's a fire escape and it leads right to the side of the building. Take Damian and fly down, dear. I'll be right behind you."<br/>
<br/>
Damian is in the back of the room at the window in the blink of an eye and unlatching it to push it open easily. His arms soon wind around Jon's shoulders again and Jon grips Damian's waist.<br/>
<br/>
"We've gotta stop escaping like this," Jon jokes. Damian rolls his eyes but still sends the boy a smirk. They step outside the window and are on the ground soon enough. Selina crawls out the window and shuts it behind her. Then, in a practiced move, leaps over the railing of the fire escape.<br/>
<br/>
She catches herself on the railing of the first floor of the rickety object. She then drops down to the ground safely with a smirk. "Let's go," she murmurs. Damian and Jon hurry after her with almost starry eyes. It's not much compared to her usual stunts and tricks but it's still awe inspiring to see.<br/>
<br/>
They round the corner and shuffle to the far edge of the parking lot away from the police cars and the group of officers talking into their radios or waiting from the outside. She walks to the nearest car and tugs up her dress the slightest bit to reveal a little black belt with pockets around her thigh. She pulls free a rounded, metal tool that glows faintly in the early morning light.<br/>
<br/>
Selina presses the device to the car door and stabs a button with her index finger. Glowing, pink numbers soon shuffle along the tiny little screen, counting up rather rapidly. "This right here is a little invention Bruce, Tim, and I worked on together. Unlocks a car door but only if it's an automatic. You can easily start the car without hotwiring it since this bad boy mimics frequency to the car's system," Selina says softly. A quiet beep alerts them to the changed number which now rests at one hundred.<br/>
<br/>
She unsticks it from the car and pulls open the door. Jon's jaw drops and he looks to the brunette in astonishment. Damian's eyes are gleaming with interest as he looks at the unassuming item before nodding once in satisfaction. When they're not in trouble he'll ask about it more.<br/>
<br/>
Selina replaces the device on her leg and pulls her dress back down. Damian pulls her in a hug suddenly and Selina smiles and wraps her arms around the boy. Her lips press a loud kiss to his forehead and Damian pulls away, a betrayed expression on his face while he frantically wipes away her lipstick mark.<br/>
<br/>
Jon rounds the car and slides into the passenger seat. Selina urges her son into the driver's seat and leans down. "I've got a safe house down in Metropolis on the west side near that malt shop. You know the one, Jon. Lay low there for bit until I can get in contact with your dad or his lawyers. Call me when it's safe to, yeah?" Selina rushes out, eyes flitting back to the building.<br/>
<br/>
Damian nods and Jon sends her a grateful smile. Selina looks at them for a few more moments before sighing and stepping back.<br/>
<br/>
"Be careful, boys," she adds before she shuts the door. Damian and Jon wave to the woman until she waves back and turns on her heel to hurry back inside the place and assist Cobblepot in some way.<br/>
<br/>
Damian looks to the glowing start-stop button and presses it. The engine comes to life rather quietly. Jon grins widely in the dark. Damian meets his eyes with a matching look and pulls out of the space carefully. The car runs even smoother than the car they'd stolen before.<br/>
<br/>
The two boys make their way out of the parking lot rather easily and Jon leans back in the seat with a relieved smile. "Metropolis, eh?" he murmurs. Damian nods and looks to the time.<br/>
<br/>
"7:04...we'll be able to get there sometime in the afternoon, probably," Damian says. Jon leans back in the car and clasps his hands over his stomach.<br/>
<br/>
"As long as we stop for something to eat. I'm fucking starving, dude," Jon says. Damian nods in agreement.<br/>
<br/>
They move down the streets in the early morning on the way to Metropolis.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>do i simp for selina kyle? yeah ❤ </p><p>Next up: We meet some famous gotham clowns and one angry plant lady, and then i finally reveal some more Big Plot Stuff. </p><p>Also; where did Music Meister come from??? idk he demanded to be written in.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. One Way (Or Another)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Wardrobe troubles, car troubles, and criminal troubles. It's like these boys can't seem to keep themselves out of trouble for two minutes, huh?</p><p>In other words; I said "here comes trouble" and the criminals later said "make it double babey"</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>PLEASE let me know about spelling errors or story inconsistencies. i legit haven't read this more than a skim through because i really wanted to get this chapter out b/c i was hella excited to write it and the next one.</p><p>i rlly appreciate yall who have kudo'd and commented. it rlly makes my day so mWAH i love u guys &lt;3</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>They drive for another half hour until Jon's stomach rumbling becomes unbearable and Damian pulls into the parking lot of a Big Belly Burger joint. Damian sighs and rubs a hand over his face.<br/>
<br/>
"Let's change into these clothes. If we keep our distance from the police they shouldn't recognize us right away," Damian says as they push through the doors of the building. A few families sit around at the scattered booths with burgers, fries, and other things that makes Damian wrinkle his nose in disgust.<br/>
<br/>
The two enter the back of the line and look up to the boards that display the menu. Jon scans it briefly before nudging Damian. "What do you want?" he asks. Damian sighs and pulls his poker earned cash from his pockets.<br/>
<br/>
"All of this looks disgusting and like it will send me into cardiac arrest," the boy grumbles. Jon snorts and raises an eyebrow. Finally, Damian rolls his eyes and says, "The apple pie and the strawberry-banana shake."<br/>
<br/>
Jon nods and accepts the cash from Damian's hands. When it finally comes time to give their order Jon steps up and smiles brightly at the dark skinned, dark haired girl manning the register.<br/>
<br/>
She eyes him with interest and gives him a winning smile. "What can I get for you today, hon?" the girl chirps. Jon's face flushes lightly and he leans on the counter with a smaller, more genuine smile.<br/>
<br/>
"Two apple pie slices, a Belly Buster burger, and two strawberry-banana milkshakes. To-go, thanks," Jon recites the order he'd practiced in his head while they waited. The girl's hands are quick against the computer screen.<br/>
<br/>
She meets his eyes afterward. "Ten twenty-two, handsome," she drawls. Jon hands over the amount and as soon as he manages that a demanding hand snags his. The girl's eyes zero in while Jon's face turns redder than before. A tiny smile curls on her lips and she nods to Damian.<br/>
<br/>
"Your order will be ready soon. Sorry about that, sir," her voice is much less inviting and more apologetic. Jon waves his hand in reassurance as he's dragged off toward the bathrooms.<br/>
<br/>
Jon raises an eyebrow at Damian's dark expression but doesn't break the silence in fear of the boy clamming up further. Instead, they enter the one room bathroom and lock the door behind them.<br/>
<br/>
Damian holds out a hand for the bag. Jon hands it over and the smaller of the two peer inside once it's unzipped.<br/>
<br/>
Both of them stare in surprise at what they find.<br/>
<br/>
"You...grabbed the wrong bag?" Damian asks with a voice dangerously cool. Jon pulls out a purple croptop and can feel his heart sinking. He tugs out a pair of jeans, then a pleated, flower printed crop top and groans.<br/>
<br/>
"So it seems," Jon mutters, scratching at his head. When he pulls out a sweater he pauses when he spots what's underneath. "Damian...." he pulls the boy's attention away from the clothes currently resting on Jon's arm and into the bag.<br/>
<br/>
There's a navy blue pencil skirt with brown stains covering the entire thing. When Damian pulls it up out of the bag carefully, Jon's eyes widen. A white button up is in similar condition only this one has a rip in the front. The two of them meet eyes and Damian purses his lips.<br/>
<br/>
"That's a whole lotta blood," Damian comments softly. Jon swallows thickly and nods. Oddly enough the windbreaker jacket underneath has survived and only has a few spatters. Jon's shoulders slump and he drops the bloodied clothes on the bathroom's floor.<br/>
<br/>
It's looking like Andrew Carter really was some sort of crimelord. At least they hadn't stolen from someone innocent. The real question was; who's clothes were these and where's the owner of them now?<br/>
<br/>
Jon kicks off his shoes and pulls his hoodie over his head. Damian makes a strangled noise when Jon wriggles from his T-shirt and turns around to keep the other from his view. He then says, "You're not really going to wear those, are you?"<br/>
<br/>
Jon snags the first shirt that had been removed from the bag and wrestles himself into it. "Why not? I look sexy as hell, don't I? Besides, I sweat through my other clothes and it's gross," Jon says as he admires his reflection in the dirtied mirror before digging for pants. Damian turns to him incredulously.<br/>
<br/>
"Why not?! Because those are women's clothes! We're going to look stupid!" Damian snarls, face reddened with embarrassment. Jon barks out a laugh and strides over to the smaller boy to place his hands on his shoulders. Damian's sputters at the touch, however, Jon ignores it in favor of shaking the boy gently.<br/>
<br/>
"It'll be fine, Dami. If your father can unashamedly rock a dress whenever he wants then you damn well can wear this croptop, yeah?" Jon says. Damian's lips thin but he snatches the other shirt from the bag and turns to change. Jon nods in satisfaction, then shimmies into the other pair of jeans.<br/>
<br/>
They actually fit rather well. The waist is a bit tight but other than that they're the right size. Jon steps back in his shoes and turns to where Damian stands with his arms crossed and a scowl on his lips. Jon beams at the other boy.<br/>
<br/>
"You look nice," he comments.<br/>
<br/>
"Shut up." Damian says.<br/>
<br/>
Jon lets Damian take the other pair of pants and grabs the windbreaker with a frown. He scrubs at it as best as he can under the sink and looks up to meet Damian's eyes through the mirror. "We've got three pairs of women's clothes. One set is bloodied," Jon comments as he scrubs with a few paper towels.<br/>
<br/>
Damian nods and shuffles closer to Jon once the jeans are buttoned. "If we're assuming each set is from a different woman, that's three girls either missing or dead," Damian murmurs. Jon chews his bottom lip and turns off the sink.<br/>
<br/>
He shakes out the windbreaker a few times and dries it with another paper towel. Then, he offers it to Damian. Damian looks to it for a few moments before he takes it with a tiny smile. He slides into the jacket carefully.<br/>
<br/>
"Thank you..." Damian mumbles as he zips it up to the top. Jon packs up the rest of the items in the bag and slings it over his shoulder.<br/>
<br/>
Damian opens the door and raises an eyebrow at the woman about to enter. She looks between the two of them but Jon drapes himself over Damian's back with a cheeky smile. "What? Never seen two friends hang around in the bathroom?" Jon chirps. Damian slaps Jon's arm and strides down the dimly lit hallway back into the main area of the building to check on their food with Jon hurrying after him with a delighted cackle.<br/>
<br/>
It's not long before their order is called. Damian collects it and they're out the door within seconds to get back to the car. Damian slams the driver's door shut and sighs.<br/>
<br/>
"Alright; we've changed, you've got your food, so let's get outta here," Damian says to nobody in particular. Jon nods and opens the bag. Damian's stomach gurgles angrily and Jon breaks out into laughter at the outraged expression he wears.<br/>
<br/>
"Why don't you take a few bites before we go?" Jon suggests. Damian nods and digs through the bag. Once retrieved Damian keeps his eyes carefully on the food in his lap as he sheds the jacket and tosses it in the back. Jon hides his proud smile and instead takes a few sips from his milkshake, a warm feeling in his chest.<br/>
<br/>
Having Damian Wayne's trust, whether to have his back while fighting or in vulnerable, embarrassing moments like this, was something Jon would never stop being grateful for.<br/>
<br/>
When they clean up and hit the road again, they drive through Gotham for close to an hour. While they've decided they're going to head to Metropolis, both boys also agreed to stay far away from where police were most likely to patrol which meant taking the long way through the city.<br/>
<br/>
Jon blinks hard as he looks out the windshield. Damian looks alert but Jon can see his friend is starting to more exhausted the longer they drive. The radio is off for once but Jon feels comfortable in the silence.<br/>
<br/>
Anything with Damian feels right. Feels comfortable.<br/>
<br/>
His thoughts are interupted with the car sputters. Damian's eyes turn hard with annoyance and he presses down on the gas pedal. Again, the car sputters. Jon curses and peers at the dashboard.<br/>
<br/>
"Aw shit. We stole a car with no gas!" Jon says. Damian's jaw clenches and he slams his fist down on the steering wheel in frustration.<br/>
<br/>
"FUCK!" he shouts. They're not going to get much further in this thing. Besides, Jon thinks, it might be better to ditch it now than to be caught with another stolen vehicle. Jon looks to where Damian is resting his head against the top of the wheel. He reaches out hesitantly to brush his fingers against Damian's right hand. When the other doesn't pull away Jon slides their hands together and clasps their fingers firmly.<br/>
<br/>
Damian pulls back to look at Jon with a scowl. "First the police stop us immediately after we snatch the car, then when we manage to get another this piece of shit breaks down on us. What kind of rich people have such a shitty car?!" Damian hisses. Jon squeezes his hand and grins.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, but we did get to see Selina. And you won in poker earlier. You think your dad would let you in the Iceberg lounge as a civillian if he were here? Admit it, Dami; you're having fun," Jon says with a grin.<br/>
<br/>
Damian glares but doesn't deny it when he says, "Get the bag. We're gonna have to walk from here until we can find another car." Jon takes it as the win it is and hooks the bag over his shoulder again as they abandon the car. Damian stuffs the Big Belly Burger leftovers in the bag and they begin the long trek on the side of the road after double checking the car for anything of value. There was nothing but a champagne bottle that rolled under the seat, and Jon had snagged it with a waggle of his eyebrows that earned him a slap to the back of his head.<br/>
<br/>
The wind is biting and Damian pulls his jacket back on with a little shiver. Jon barely feels it as they hike down the pavement. Cars pass by sparingly but it seems like they're mainly coming from the right side of the road. People from Metropolis rarely come to Gotham, find it too dark and dank for their tastes.<br/>
<br/>
Jon's not saying they're wrong but he finds it more fun and comfortable than the hustle and bustle of sunny Metropolis.<br/>
<br/>
When they reach Amusement Mile's parking lot both their faces drop. "You think we can stop here and not get caught?" Jon asks while already dreading it. Damian shrugs and crosses his arms over his chest.<br/>
<br/>
"Last I heard everyone was locked up safe and sound in Arkham," he says. Jon nods once and they pass through the worn down entrance.<br/>
<br/>
The place is fucking creepy in Jon's opinion. The games are completely broken down. The baseball toss' sign is hanging down with the Joker's signature spray painted on it. The glass is shattered, balls torn to shreds, and a few other games have completely broken down stalls.<br/>
<br/>
Even in the day time it's freaky to look at. The further they walk the worse things get. Damian's steps are careful when he approaches thick vines that have taken home around the bumper car ride. The flowers they grow are a bright pink that Jon almost wants to pick for himself but something about it all feels off and he decides against it.<br/>
<br/>
Jon lets himself float upward to peer on the second floor of the park. There's a rollercoaster with an abandoned booth that looks relatively okay. He drops back to the ground and grasps Damian's hand.<br/>
<br/>
"There's a little booth upstairs we can look into staying at," Jon says. Damian blows out a breath through his nose, looks around the area cautiously, then nods.<br/>
<br/>
"Sounds fine, I suppose. Probably filthy, though," he responds. Jon nods sheepishly and Damian waves it off rather easily.<br/>
<br/>
They head up the ramp quickly, shoes clunking in the silence. The floorboards creak rather ominously and they only glance at each other briefly before they're speeding up. Jon's not letting either one of them fall through the floor. That'd be both embarrassing and painful.<br/>
<br/>
Damian takes the lead when he finds what Jon had meant. They step through the booth and look around. There's no where specifically clean for them to lay but Damian takes his jacket off and lays it on the ground with the outside touching the floor. Then, he beckons Jon over.<br/>
<br/>
Jon sits next to him easily. He leans closer until their legs press together and their shoulders touch and brush. It's quiet in the park but Jon still doesn't mind. Damian turns to bury his face into Jon's shoulder.<br/>
<br/>
"Do you ever wonder what life would be like without a specific person in your life?" Damian asks. Jon hums and picks up Damian's scarred left hand in his to curl and uncurl the other boy's fingers. He looks at the contrast between them and smiles.<br/>
<br/>
"Sometimes. When I think of this one person I usually find my life would be really boring without them. Even if they call me an idiot," Jon whispers.<br/>
<br/>
Damian snickers and says, "Well, you are one. This person sounds very wise." Jon squeezes the hand in his grip and smiles.<br/>
<br/>
They sit in the quiet for a few more minutes before Damian speaks up again. He murmurs, "I do that too, sometimes. And....I find myself feeling unnervingly grateful they're with me. That they've stuck around even when I'm a bit...difficult to handle."<br/>
<br/>
Jon smiles at the shy tone and turns to press his face into Damian's hair giddily. His heart is beating frantically and he can hear Damian's is as well.<br/>
<br/>
They stay curled up in the corner with smiles on their faces even while they fall asleep.<br/>
<br/>
Hours later, Jon snaps awake to an angry snort and quick footsteps. He grabs Damian's hand and the boy jerks upright in sleepy confusion as he looks around. It's gotten much darker out. They were more exhausted than Jon was expecting, it seems.<br/>
<br/>
The noise sounds again, much longer. It sounds similar to a snorting cow but more vicious. He presses a finger to his lips and Damian nods as he grabs his jacket. He doesn't hear a thing but with Jon so alert he knows there's something off.<br/>
<br/>
They shuffle out of the booth and Jon searches around the area. When he doesn't see anything in the immediate vicinity he searches further, through buildings and broken down rides.<br/>
<br/>
Damian suddenly grabs Jon's arm and the boy snaps back to his friend. Damian points a finger up with a suspicious look on his face. Jon nods once and they both scramble out of the way as two hulking figures leap to where they were just a millisecond ago.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh shit," Jon shouts. Two snarling hyenas eye them with a hungry gleam. Laughter sounds to the right of them and Jon curses again. Damian narrows his eyes as they back away.<br/>
<br/>
"Of course those fuckers would break out the one night we spend here. Move it, Jon!" Damian says. Jon nods and they bolt to the left. The hyenas cackle in clear delight at the chase and Jon hears the scitter of nails on the floorboards.<br/>
<br/>
Damian takes the lead again and ignores the ramp in favor of grabbing the railing and launching himself down to the ground. Jon copies and grunts as he hits the ground. They take off, weaving through old game stalls. The Joker's laughter haunts them, follows even as they run for the exit. Only there's a metal door that slams shut when they near it.<br/>
<br/>
Jon almost spills onto the floor as he tries to stop. Damian pushes him to the right and they keep running. It's frustrating. He wants to punch through the door and keep them moving but with the Joker of all people watching it'd be a horrible mess of revealed identities for everyone. The clown might be insane but he was smart.<br/>
<br/>
He'd put it together that his dad was Superman. He'd figure out who Damian was with a little more hunting, and people would get hurt. Killed, even.<br/>
<br/>
They keep running straight ahead until they're running down the docks next to the ocean. Jon may not be getting tired but he can tell Damian's starting to feel it. They can't run from the hyenas forever, and soon enough Joker will get impatient and plant something else for them to run into.<br/>
<br/>
The footsteps begin pounding harder against the ground and Damian risks a look back. What he sees must be bad because his expression turns grim and he points to the water. Jon nods and they turn to leap straight into the water.<br/>
<br/>
It's freezing if the look of shock Damian gives him is any indication. Jon grabs the boy and swims them to the top after what feels like forever. Damian inhales deeply and wipes the salt water from his eyes. His teeth are chattering, so Jon swims them back onto the dock. Damian climbs out and gives Jon a miserable look.<br/>
<br/>
"Let's get out of here," he nearly whines. Jon nods quickly in agreement. That tone was always a bad sign of either an angry outburst or something worse.<br/>
<br/>
Crying.<br/>
<br/>
Jon had only witnessed it once but it'd been bad. Bruce and Alfred had both been out of commission with a near overdose of Scarecrow's fear toxin and pneumonia respectively. The others, Damian included, had run themselves nearly ragged in an attempt to keep the criminals under control but a mass break out from Arkham had nearly broken them. The Justice League had been off world at the time as well.<br/>
<br/>
Jon had helped as much as he could but ultimately hadn't been allowed to do much at the time with his powers not fully under his control yet. It had probably been for the best, really.<br/>
<br/>
That night, when everyone had been accounted for and back in Arkham, Damian had shown up at his doorstep and burst in tears a few seconds after Jon had opened the door. He'd been stunned stupid but had let him in while his mom made tea. She'd mainly left them alone while Damian told him about their hellish two weeks.<br/>
<br/>
Jon had distracted him with his favorite video games and cake his mom had made earlier. She hadn't even chided them when she got up for work the next day. She'd let them stay home and watch trashy shows to make fun of together.<br/>
<br/>
Jon shakes off his thoughts and keeps his arms around Damian. They stumble up the stairs again feeling wet, exhausted, and furious at their circumstances. They're making their way past the balloon popping game when Jon hears the click of a gun and drags Damian down to duck.<br/>
<br/>
The bullet flies overhead. Damian's eyes turn angry and they run off again. Wild laughter echoes in the park behind them. Dread builds in both of them when a sing-songy voice chirps:<br/>
<br/>
"One way or another, I'm gonna find ya<br/>
I'm gonna get ya, get ya, get ya, get ya!"<br/>
<br/>
For every "get ya" the Joker fires another bullet. Damian flinches with each sound of the gun but Jon pushes the boy in front of them. Worst comes to worst the bullet hits him and rebounds and that's his identity uncovered. At least Damian would be alive.<br/>
<br/>
They turn the corner sharply and Joker croons out another verse behind them. Jon groans when he sees the Fun House. They scramble inside through the clown's open mouth and find themselves quickly adjusting to the darkness. Jon takes over, weaving through the maze of mirrors relatively easily. When they push through the next door, however, Jon immediately wants to throw up.<br/>
<br/>
Something about the room is throwing him off balance. Damian seems rather confident as he strides through to Jon grabs his arm and stumbles after him. He feels like he's dead drunk even though he's not even able to be drunk. When they enter the next door they're in a long, dark hallway.<br/>
<br/>
That never bodes well for anyone, does it?<br/>
<br/>
Damian and Jon scurry through. It becomes evident what this hallway is going to be like; full of deathtraps and long.<br/>
<br/>
Jon hears the whine of a contraption being readied and he pulls Damian down again. The boy drops like a rock and three bolts from a crossbow embed themselves into the opposite wall. Jon suggests crawling at some point but Damian points out they've set off some by stepping on certain floorboards.<br/>
<br/>
The door slams open from behind them and they run again. Weaving, and twisting, and turning around this damned hallway to avoid anything flying at them. The footsteps are loud and the Joker's laughing and singing is frightening in a way Jon hasn't felt in a long time.<br/>
<br/>
When they spot the exit Jon could cry with relief. Only for a slim form to drop in front of them seemingly from the vents.<br/>
<br/>
A woman with a smirk on her dark lips wields a bat in her hands. Her eyes are cold and her hair is pinned rather neatly. She waltzes toward them while her metal bat slaps against her hand in a controlled way.<br/>
<br/>
Wonderful, Jon thinks hysterically, someone like the Joker only more sane.<br/>
<br/>
"Well, well, what've we got here? Two little rats scurrying around the park," the woman purrs. She swings her bat out to slam it into the wall and cackles when Jon flinches back. Damian, however, takes a step forward. Jon grabs his wrist to stop him from trying to take her on.<br/>
<br/>
Something's off about this woman. She's most assuredly one of Joker's but she there's no way she was broken in the same way Harley Quinn was. This women was in full control of her actions in every way, of sound mind and body (as much as a criminal in Gotham could be).<br/>
<br/>
The Joker finally catches up but he looks delighted as he spots the way they're cornered. There's no way for them both to take them. Not even if Jon used his powers. He might not get hurt but something tells him that woman is good with a bat.<br/>
<br/>
One moment Jon is sure this is going to be the end. He's either going to have to reveal his powers to get them the hell out of there or one of them was going to get hurt and the next the side of the Fun House is being destroyed.<br/>
<br/>
Jon cries out and pulls Damian closer to shield the human. The Joker makes a startled yelp through the dust cloud while the woman cries out in surprise and anger.<br/>
<br/>
When the dust clears Jon and Damian stare in amazement as a green skinned, slim woman with flowing red hair stands on writhing vines. Her teeth are bared in anger and her eyes are practically glowing with her rage.<br/>
<br/>
"This is the last time I let you trample on my darlings, Joker! I'll decimate you!" She shrieks, palms up and fingers curled while her plants steadily wrap around the clown's body. The man lets out a strangled cackle and the clown woman strides past them to hold out her hands.<br/>
<br/>
"Come on, Ivy, you know he didn't mean to. We had some uninvited guests and he was just trying to play with them," the woman says. Poison Ivy snarls at the woman and knocks her aside.<br/>
<br/>
She glares at the clown woman. "I haven't forgotten you forgetting to water my babies while I was away in Arkham. You're next!" Ivy spits. Frantic footsteps sound and one Harley Quinn bursts into the room.<br/>
<br/>
"Ivy, no! Ya can't kill Mistah J!" she blurts out. Ivy actually pauses and turns to Harley's wide eyes with a scowl.<br/>
<br/>
She clicks her tongue angrily and waves once. The vines wrapped around the Joker unravel themselves and Ivy lets her plants slither back out the hole in the building. She turns to Harley with a sad frown on her lips and says, "He put bullet holes in little Erin. She was growing up so strong, too," Ivy says. Jon's astonished at the true sadness on the woman's face.<br/>
<br/>
Harley makes a sympathetic noise and presses a delicate kiss to Ivy's cheek. "We'll replant her roots and she can grow again! Maybe we should go somewhere with more, er, plant space, yeah?" Harley says. Ivy smiles and nods once in satisfaction.<br/>
<br/>
The Joker is dusting himself off while the woman pats him down with concern. Damian looks between all four criminals with a wary look. Jon meets his eyes and shrugs in confusion. He's not sure what's happening here either.<br/>
<br/>
Both of them freeze when four pairs of eyes snap to them in unison. Jon shudders at the weirdness of it all and waves with a weak smile. Harley's eyes widen and a laugh leaves her mouth.<br/>
<br/>
"Hey, it's Wayne's kiddo! Ya know....we could ransom him off to his daddy for some big buckaroos, ya know?" Harley suggests as she scrutinzes Damian. Damian squints at her and shakes his head.<br/>
<br/>
"Unfortunately for you my father is currently out of town. Therefore, he won't be here to hand over any sort of money," Damian tells her almost casually. There's an uneasy glint in his eyes.<br/>
<br/>
The clown woman hums in thought but snaps to point at Harley and says, "Brilliant idea, Harls." Harley beams at her and bounces on her toes. "We should send a message all across Gotham, then. Someone will inform your father and he can come back and get that money to us," she continues.<br/>
<br/>
Joker wraps an arm around the clown woman's shoulders to press a loud, smacking kiss to her cheek. The woman's lips curl up when he says, "Alright, Punchline. I'll leave you, my dear, to get these boys into the car!" Joker says with a cackle. Damian grunts when Harley grabs him by the arm and Jon lets Punchline shove him out the hole Ivy made.<br/>
<br/>
Poison Ivy steps after them while she glances around carefully. Damian and Jon meet eyes but before they can do a damn thing like bolt for their lives there's shouts coming from the main entrance.<br/>
<br/>
Joker's eyes light up and Poison Ivy flexes her fingers in anticipation. "Oh goody," Joker says, "A party just for us!"<br/>
<br/>
Ivy smirks and lets her plants, flowers and vines of all kinds, lift her into the air. "Let's not keep them waiting then, clown. We must be good hosts for our guests," she exclaims. Harley looks put out that she can't join and points to them.<br/>
<br/>
"Don't ya dare move even a lil' muscle or I'll brain ya!" Harley threatens and darts off. Punchline shakes her head in amusement and shakes Jon gently.<br/>
<br/>
"What she said," she murmurs and runs after them. Damian and Jon wait a few moments in silence before they bolt after the crew of criminals.<br/>
<br/>
There's an angry shout from Punchline and an answering scream from a man's voice. Jon guides Damian forward and they slink from around the corner. Jon's mouth drops open in both horror and fascination.<br/>
<br/>
There's a man right in front of the entrance with his abdomen ripped open. His innards spill from the cavity and when Jon and Damian creep closer they can see pink and blue flowers have bloomed and decorate around the man's insides.<br/>
<br/>
Damian picks up a bloodied nightstick and tests it in his hands. Jon looks to where Punchline swings her bat wildly to club one uniformed man in the head while the Joker shoots wildly at the gang of men and women.<br/>
<br/>
Jon's brows furrow. "They're all wearing the same uniform," he says quietly while Harley screams in glee while her legs are wrapped around a brunette woman's neck. The woman shakes and tries to throw her off but Harley gets a grip around her head and pulls. The sickening snap feels like its in stereo but maybe that's just Jon's superhearing.<br/>
<br/>
"So they are," Damian says as he checks the man's jacket. It looks like a standard GCPD uniform only when Damian upturns the collar does he see the image of a little bird next to the G.C.P.D patch on the back. "Look at this," Damian points out as Ivy impales another man through the stomach much to Harley's clear delight if her laughter is anything to go by.<br/>
<br/>
Jon crouches and frowns as he runs his fingers over it. "This isn't Cobblepot's work, right?" he asks. Damian shakes his head negative and points to a white spot on the little printed bird.<br/>
<br/>
"Look at where this is. This is a typical depiction of a magpie with the white belly here and near the wing like that. And here," Damian's finger slides down to the tail, "you have the infamous tail. It's longer than most Corvidae," Damian tells him.<br/>
<br/>
Jon's lips purse. Marco's man had spoken about a Magpie who'd managed to intercept one of his deliveries. If this were his folks then why were they here? Jon didn't think it was to get a free place for the night like Damian and Jon had come here for.<br/>
<br/>
He turns to Damian and tells him, "Back during that poker game I overheard Marco's guy. He was telling him how some guy, Magpie, stopped one of his runs. Killed some of his manpower, too."<br/>
<br/>
Damian makes the connection within seconds and tips his head curiously to the side. A roar of anger sounds from the side and in seconds Jon is up and blocking a knife with his bare arm. Damian slides around him neatly and smashes the nightstick he kept in hand into the woman's head. She grunts in pain but another slam of the stick has her out on the ground.<br/>
<br/>
Jon lets Damian look his arm over instinctively while the group of villains approach. Harley's face looks upset as she walks up.<br/>
<br/>
"I thought I told ya to stay put?" she says indignantly. Damian begins to speak up and protest angrily but Poison Ivy raises her hand and watches them with glittering eyes and a cautious expression on her round face.<br/>
<br/>
"Never mind that, sweetheart. What I'd really like to know is why these men kept demanding to see Damian Wayne and his friend. Why they really, really wanted whatever is in that bag of yours," Ivy drawls dangerously. Joker's eyes light up and flit to the bag. Punchline leans on Joker's shoulder with her arm and watches them with her bloodied bat in her other hand.<br/>
<br/>
Jon freezes. "What?" he croaks out. Damian's a little wild eyed at the words. They both know what that means. There's only one person who knows how many bags were in that car they stole.<br/>
<br/>
Punchline nods and scratches at her nose with a long, black nail. "Aw, yeah. They were real mad about it. Desperate, even. Y'know, I've seen these guys before, too. Stormed into my territory all angry and self-important. Killed 'em all, of course. Real odd how they're runnin' around like this," the woman says.<br/>
<br/>
Damian grabs Jon's arm and hisses with wild eyes. "This is your fault! I'm soaking wet in a dead woman's clothes because of you!" he howls shrilly. Jon grabs at Damian's flailing limbs to keep the boy from hurting himself or Jon.<br/>
<br/>
"How was I supposed to know the car we stole was from some dude bold enough to try and kill the Joker's girl?! You can't blame me, either, you went with it!" Jon shouts back. Damian lets out a frustrated noise with the back of his throat because yeah, he did go along with it.<br/>
<br/>
Joker yawns and waves between them. "You can tell us the story while we get you to the news station," he demands. Damian sputters and looks as if he wants to take a swing at the man. The Joker's smirk dares him to try. Damian backs down with an angry expression.<br/>
<br/>
"Why are we letting you ransom us off, exactly?" Jon says before Damian decides to launch himself at the most dangerous criminal in Gotham City. Harley beams at them.<br/>
<br/>
"'Cause we saved yer backsides back there, silly! We coulda let ya be nabbed by those mean ol' henchmen but we didn't!" Harley says with an excited grin. Poison Ivy nods her agreement and extends her hand out.<br/>
<br/>
"So now, children, you owe us," she finishes. Damian's shoulders slump and Jon shrugs. They've got no way out of this, no car, and Andrew Carter, AKA Magpie, on their ass.<br/>
<br/>
What other choice do they really have?<br/>
<br/>
So, Damian takes Ivy's hand and lets the band of criminals guide them into a purple van with neon green spraypaint on the side. Then, they sit and recite their story to a sparkling eyed Joker and Harley Quinn while Poison Ivy and Punchline sit up front to drive.<br/>
<br/>
(Damian doesn't appreciate the two hyenas staring at him like he's lunch while they ride, however, and neither does Jon.)</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>a lot happened, huh? </p><p>so, i have a lot planned for this and a lot of characters are going to be popping in (some more important than others). andrew carter was originally going to be named Jackal but i was like oh damn thats already a villain so i just named him the Magpie (for obvious reasons but joker will point those out the chapter after the next and make fun of how corny it is) ikkk theres already a magpie but i just said fuck it every name in existence is taken apparently. i promise u tho theres a lot going on damian and jon dont know quite yet.</p><p>here's punchline, too! she's a really interesting character imo and i kinda wanted to include her more than i thought so i kept her</p><p>damian and jon stood back for part of the chapter IK but i needed to show off the clown crew's dynamic for a minute lmao</p><p>anyway hope u enjoyed! pls kudo and comment they absolutely make my day. see yall next time w another pov shift and maaaaaybe our favorite batdad too :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Interlude 2-Multi POV</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Let's peek in at a few other characters, shall we?</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>shorter chapter but i had a lot of fun writing this</p>
<p>thank you guys, as always, for the kudos and comments. yall are awesome and always make my day &lt;3</p>
<p>pls lemme know about spelling/grammar issues</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>UNDERNEATH WAYNE MANOR<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
Dick Grayson is fitting his mask on his face. Everyone in the room is on edge tonight with their missing member, Jason and him most of all, but they're still responsible for Gotham City. That meant an increase in patrols with them now two members down.<br/>
<br/>
Barbara clips on her belt and begins filling it with refills of her gadgets when there's a startled gasp from where Alfred is now sitting in his chair. His eyes are wide at something on the television and Tim is the first one to make it over to the man.<br/>
<br/>
"Alfred! Are you okay?" Tim checks, gloved hands patting him down gently. Alfred looks to him with an almost frightened expression and points to the still playing TV. Jason turns up the volume with a hard expression.<br/>
<br/>
Damian is standing in soaked clothes with his legs tied together and arms bound in rope by his sides. There's a cloth between his teeth He looks angry and miserable as the Joker rests the barrel of the gun against his head with a obscenely wide smile stretched on his face.<br/>
<br/>
Jason's fingers are clenching tighter are the remote and Dick feels sick to his stomach. They should've gone out looking for them but instead they had sat here waiting around for him to come home. Dick crosses his arms over his chest and watches as the Joker wraps an arm around Damian's shoulders.<br/>
<br/>
"...so if you want your little Wayne brat back safe and, well, not in pieces we're going to need two million from daddy Wayne himself. Since we've heard he's not in town, we'll give you seven hours to get that money together and at the docks. Aren't we generous?" Joker says with glittering eyes.<br/>
<br/>
Tim curses and slams his fist on the table in frustration. A giggle comes from the TV and it pans over to where Punchline lays across a table on her stomach, heeled feet kicking in and giggling in a parody of a lovesick teenaged girl on the phone. Jon's squinting at the screen, just as wet as Damian seems to be.<br/>
<br/>
She beams at the TV and tells them, "But wait; there's more! Throw in an extra two million and you can get the Wayne brat's little friend here. If not, well, buh-bye to this cutie!" Punchline reaches around to grab at Jon's jaw between her index finger and thumb. Jon's head wobbles from side to side when she shakes his head.<br/>
<br/>
Punchline suddenly jerks her head to the right and the Joker waves at the camera again while he pulls the gag from Damian's mouth. "Say a few words, kiddo. Let the viewers at home know you're doing just fine,"<br/>
<br/>
Damian scowls and glares at the camera. "I'd like to announce that when I get free from here I'm going to break Jonathan fucking Kent's kneecaps. And then," he says and turns to the Joker with a snarl. "I'm going to rip your throat ou-" Damian's threat is cut off by his own sudden shriek when a blur tackles him to the ground. The camera tips as Harley yells for her hyenas to heel.<br/>
<br/>
"Bud! Lou! No, bad boys!" She shouts.<br/>
<br/>
They watch in horror as a large, furry form leans over him with a growl of what sounds like anger. Damian's howls of outrage are soon drowned out by Jon's screeches as he's dragged across the floor by the collar of his shirt.<br/>
<br/>
Jason clenches his jaw, turns around, and whips the remote across the cave. Cassandra's brows are furrowed as she stares at the TV, which has now turned to a "Technical Difficulties" screen. She looks puzzled but Dick can't find it in himself to care right now.<br/>
<br/>
He's seething and wants to slam his fists or batons into one of those clown's faces. How dare they take his little brother. For all they knew, now, Damian could be injured by those overgrown beasts and they wouldn't be able to reach him. Not without knowing where the hell the Joker and his little crew were.<br/>
<br/>
Tim is now hunched over the Batcomputer. Dick already knows he's working on trying to find that specific station. In addition to an injured Damian, they might be looking at dead bodies. Jon would be fine but most likely not for long if they found out he couldn't really be injured.<br/>
<br/>
Barbara sighs shakily and settles her cowl in place. "I'm going to see if my dad has anything about where the Joker and them have been spotted, if at all. Might give us a clue to where they're staying. I doubt they'll retreat back to Amusement Mile after showing their faces on TV like that," she says as she straddles a sleek black bike.<br/>
<br/>
Dick nods and looks to where Cass has her hand in Alfred's. The man pats her hand wearily and gives her a soft smile. "I'm alright now, Miss Cassandra, thank you. Just got a bit of a shock. I'll see if I can reach your father to inform him," Alfred says as he stands. Cass scurries after him.<br/>
<br/>
"Lois too?" she asks. Alfred nods and leads her up the stairs carefully. Jason blows out a frustrated breath and looks down to the ground.<br/>
<br/>
Dick strides over and pulls the man into a hug. Jason grumbles faintly but tips his face down until it rests on the top of his head. "We'll find him, little wing. We'll bring them both home," Dick says. Jason nods against his hair and pulls back after a moment.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah," Jason says roughly and stalks past him to head to his bike. Dick makes his way next to Tim and slides his fingers through the boy's unruly hair. Tim pauses to lean into it for a moment before he's back to tapping away at the computer.<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
SPACE<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
Bruce runs his fingers through his hair. They're all heading back to the space station but he's exhausted. His muscles are aching and the needle passing through his skin hurts like a bitch.<br/>
<br/>
Diana's lips are thinned as she looks over the damage of her own leg. It's still bleeding steadily even while she swipes at it with an antiseptic soaked cloth. Clark is the one stitching Bruce with steady hands but his eyes are getting darker with frustration the longer he stares at the wound Bruce bears on his chest.<br/>
<br/>
Bruce raises an eyebrow impassively and Clark finally relents. "This was meant for me. I don't understand why you insist on taking reckless hits like that," he says quietly. Bruce looks away with a wince as he shifts.<br/>
<br/>
"The dagger had kryptonite infused in the blade. I analysed it earlier, Clark. You're not invincible. While it may have hurt me, that would have completely crippled you out there," Bruce tells him. Clark's eyes widen the slightest bit and he laughs almost bitterly.<br/>
<br/>
"Always looking out for us, aren't you?"<br/>
<br/>
Bruce's eyes narrow at the words but Clark shakes his head and continues stitching. Diana sighs as she walks over and takes a seat next to Bruce. Her boot nudges Clark's thigh and the man slumps slightly.<br/>
<br/>
"I just feel awful. Not only did that little girl die after we promised her she wouldn't, I also got you two hurt when it should've been me," Clark says softly. Bruce's eyebrows shoot up in a rare display of disbelief. Diana leans back against the wall and shakes her head.<br/>
<br/>
Diana tells them with a mix of amusement and chiding in her voice, "You men are all the same. All full of unnecessary guilt and anger. We're teammates, Clark. Friends. If those daggers had gotten even near you it would have been a lot worse for you than us. And that little girl....it was unavoidable. That planet had no real, advanced technology. It wasn't your fault, or Bruce's fault, or even mine. Not Barry, or Shayera, or Hal. None of us are to blame."<br/>
<br/>
Clark nods hard once and ties off Bruce's stitches with practiced ease. Before Clark can pull back, however, Bruce catches his hand. The Man of Steel gives him a look of surprise but curls his fingers around Bruce's hand hesitantly. Bruce lets out a long breath through his nose.<br/>
<br/>
"It's...really not your fault, Clark. None of it. You did what you could and that girl knew that. Don't beat yourself up over it," Bruce tells him. Clark laughs wetly and shakes his head.<br/>
<br/>
"Hypocrite," he teases. Bruce sneers playfully and releases Clark's hand after a moment. Clark looks between the two with a small smile and sighs.<br/>
<br/>
He thanks them for the comfort quietly and heads out. Diana leans against Bruce gently. Her arm slides around his to hook them together and flips over his hand to press hers into his. Their fingers thread together gently while Diana presses her head to his gently.<br/>
<br/>
"We're going to check on him in ten minutes, aren't we?" She murmurs.<br/>
<br/>
"Mhm," Bruce grunts and rests his cheek on top of hers delicately.<br/>
<br/>
Somewhere in the ship, Shayera's angry bellow of 'HAL!!' sounds, followed by twin terrified screams of Hal and Barry rings in their ears. Diana only chuckles and for once Bruce lets himself smile in the silence of the medbay.<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
????<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
Andrew Carter is a simple man. He's like anyone else, really. He likes money, fast cars, and women hanging off his arms. He loves their fluttering eyelashes, and pretty lips all curled into sweet smiles just for him. He likes power, and fame, and anything else a typical human would want.<br/>
<br/>
Andrew, unlike many people, goes for what he wants without an ounce of hesitation. He fought for what he wanted. Lied, cheated, and stole what he needed to make his way to the top. People didn't matter to him anymore. They were another stepping stone to get to the very top.<br/>
<br/>
He always gets what he wants and he's dreaming big.<br/>
<br/>
Carter is smart too. He knows that. Teachers and professors used to praise him for his outstanding work, for his cunning brain and articulation. When people began to get in his way, tried to beat him down and keep him in the hell he lived in for years, Andrew used his cunning for other matters.<br/>
<br/>
He knew how to lie effortlessly and never get caught. Knew how to start a fight between two of his enemies and let them take each other out while he laughs on the sidelines at his puppets dancing.<br/>
<br/>
Andrew knew the best ways to coax out a chilling secret to use against someone. He knew exactly how much force was needed to snap someone's neck, how to remove someone's organs oh-so carefully so they were still alive and feeling it, until they choked out their secrets. Andrew knew how to hide a body, how to act, how to keep things hidden from the police.<br/>
<br/>
One thing he hadn't accounted for, however, were two meddling little shits.<br/>
<br/>
He'd been so close to advancing things, so close to perfecting his greatest creation and some children had managed to best him. Now, normally if someone had stolen his car he wouldn't care as much. Would have it reported and let the police handle it.<br/>
<br/>
But these little fuckers had somehow managed to knock him out, humiliate him in front of his moles in the force, and took both his best work and that nosy reporter's clothes.<br/>
<br/>
Andrew was livid. This was all personal, now, and when he saw those clowns who'd taken his bait team out on the television, well, it was like the gods had blessed him.<br/>
<br/>
The man picks up the phone at his desk and dials with a smirk. It takes a moment until the call connects but his heart speeds up in anticipation when his partner answers.<br/>
<br/>
"Did you see the news?" Andrew murmurs, nearly breathless with both want and hope. A rasping chuckle sounds over the phone.<br/>
<br/>
"Of course I did. Shall I send some of my men over there?" the voice murmurs. Andrew smiles and shakes his head as he leans back in his chair. His mind is nearly in overdrive as he taps his fingers against his desk.<br/>
<br/>
He says, "No, no. Not yet. I need you here, though. I've got an idea and some informaton I need you to hear."<br/>
<br/>
The man on the other side makes a noise of amusement. "Make yourself pretty and I'll be there in an hour. We've got lots to discuss, darling."<br/>
</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>So Clark, Bruce, and Diana weren't supposed to have that talk. Their convo was waaaay different but Clark wanted some comfort ig and it went from there. I'm heavily tempted to put those three together in a relationship too now,,,and i just might 'cause why the fuck not??? i absolutely would not break up selina/bruce and lois/clark if that happens dont worry. i figure they should all get some happiness tho </p>
<p>and, finally, meet andrew carter. hes wack asf and in love with his partner. who's his partner? you're gonna have to guess until i reveal it thru (probably) damian :))) </p>
<p>after i finish this up im absolutely gonna post a few stories about him and his partner, some batcat short stories, some clark/diana/bruce, obviously more damian/jon, etc. basically every couple will get a little bit of time to relax and be soft with each other. even joker and punchline, maybe but im not great at writing the joker so IDK</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Ain't No Rest for the Wicked</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Our boys decide to do some digging into Carter after an unsettling discovery.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>So! Two mportant updates:</p><p>-I will now be updating every other day! This will allow for better chapters and probably more editing<br/>-As you can see, dear readers, I've put this bad boy in a series. I will now be adding side stories to this. I'm entertaining the idea of a sequel of sorts, but that probably won't happen for a long time if I do decide to do that</p><p>Thank you guys for all your support. I love your comments and appreciate the kudos and comments :)</p><p>TW//Mentions of sexual assault (just a mention but still you can skip over Carter's backstory if you want since it will be summed up in a later chapter w/o the mention for y'all if you're uncomfy with that type of thing) and also graphic(?) descriptions of some dead bodies.</p><p>Hope you enjoy this update</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jon laughs on the ground while Bud licks over his face enthusiastically. "Stop it!" he laughs as the animal nuzzles at his throat curiously. Bud makes an odd mix between a cackle and a whine as Harley manages to reign him in. Jon's not sure if Bud was going to try and tear out his throat or was growing fond of him. Jon assumes it's the former but it's still a nice thought.<br/>
<br/>
Ivy's pulling Lou away at the same time when the hyena begins to chew on Damian's pant leg. Damian wriggles angrily and turns on his stomach. "Untie me!" the boy demands. Joker chuckles and directs Punchline to get to her feet. The clown woman's heels clack against the floor.<br/>
<br/>
She slides a pocket knife through the ropes. Jon gets to his feet with a relieved noise and curls backward to stretch out his back. Damian is on his feet and jerks his body from side to side to loosen himself up again.<br/>
<br/>
Joker jumps off where he's perched on a nearby and wraps his arms around both Jon and Damian's shoulders. "Now, then, let's get the hell out of this place before the cops show up!" he says loudly with a grin. Both Jon and Damian duck out from under his arms. At the over-dramatic pout on his grinning lips, Punchline slides underneath his arm and allows it curl around her waist.<br/>
<br/>
The group navigate around the unconscious bodies. At first, Joker had almost just begun shooting but Damian and Jon had been quick to argue against that idea. Instead, Harley and Ivy had gone around to knock each person in the station out with glee.<br/>
<br/>
They now made their way out the front doors and back into the van. Damian climbs in through the back and helps Jon in with a grunt. Bud and Lou hop up to lay across the ground. Punchline climbs into the driver's seat while Harley takes up the passenger seat. Poison Ivy and the Joker both sit in the back across from Damian and Jon.<br/>
<br/>
"Alright," Jon says, "now that we've taken care of that, let's see what exactly Andrew Carter wants from us,"<br/>
<br/>
They pull the clothes from the bag. Damian grimaces a bit when he has to toss aside the air of boxers but Jon looks over the bloodied clothes again. The champagne bottle they stole is still in tact and Jon raises his eyebrow when his friend lifts it out. Damian smirks.<br/>
<br/>
"When this shit is all over, you can take me out to that hill in Smallville and we'll drink this up. This is the good kind, too," Damian tells him.<br/>
<br/>
Jon can't help the smile that curls on his lips so he nods and clutches the bottle between his legs to prevent it from tipping. Damian tosses their leftover fast food to Bud and Lou, much to the Joker's amusement.<br/>
<br/>
They empty the bag completely and Damian shakes his head. "He wouldn't be going nuts over some stupid, bloodied clothes, would he? If anyone accused him of something he could just say his girlfriend got mugged. The police probably wouldn't even think twice about that. I mean, come on, it's Gotham."<br/>
<br/>
Jon studies the bag for a moment until an idea hits him. His vision blurs for a second, then clears until he's looking through the bag. A folded paper resides in what seems to be a hidden pocket, along with a little vial filled with a yellowish-green liquid.<br/>
<br/>
Jon blinks rapidly to clear away the ability and grabs Damian's hand. "Cut through here; secret pockets." he manages out, still a little disoriented. His friend's eyes light up and he holds out his hand toward the Joker.<br/>
<br/>
"Knife, please," Damian says expectantly. The Joker watches him with keen eyes as he hands over a butterfly knife. Damian nods distractedly, flips it open with ease, and slices through the fabric where Jon points.<br/>
<br/>
The paper is what they get first. Jon flips it open and furrows his brows. "It just has a name; Kara Simmons," Jon says and closes it to pocket the paper. Damian looks to the clothes with a suspicious look to his eyes.<br/>
<br/>
"It's a start, isn't it?" Damian says as he tears through the second pocket. It was sewed closed with tiny, precise stitches. This pocket reveals the vial and Damian holds it up with a frown. It moves just like water or any other liquid would.<br/>
<br/>
Jon takes a closer look at it. He doesn't know what the hell could even be in here. Damian raises the vial and looks to the curious criminals across from them. "Recognize this at all?" he questions. Ivy leans forward and accepts the item from him to look it over in the light.<br/>
<br/>
The Joker leans closer to her and eyes it with an almost troubled expression. It clears within seconds and he says "I'm sure I've seen it before but, you know, things are a bit scrambled up here." The clown taps the side of his head with a dark grin, then bursts into laughter. Ivy rolls her eyes and uncorks the vial.<br/>
<br/>
Jon was expecting a foul smell, if he's being honest. Instead, he catches a whiff of flowers. It's nice and pleasing but it immediately has Jon on edge. Damian seems to feel the same because his eyes have zeroed in on the vial.<br/>
<br/>
Ivy's eyes narrow. Her lip curls in disgust and she turns to the Joker, who's eyes have turned dark with fury. "There's a smell of Blue Poppies, here," Ivy tells them. Joker lets out a bitter laugh and leans back against the van side.<br/>
<br/>
He says, "Looks like Mr. Carter has joined Doctor Crane."<br/>
<br/>
Damian's jaw clenches. Scarecrow was never fun to deal with. He always ended up with a face full of gas somehow and it was always a bitch to ride out. He was one of the most merciless when it came to fighting. Scarecrow played dirty and was proud of it.<br/>
<br/>
"You're positive it's Crane he's working with?" Damian asks. Harley barks out a laugh from the front seat and turns around to look at them. She crosses her arms on the headrest and peers at them.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, it's definitely him. Ol' Crane's toxins start out smellin' like flowers 'nd shit. Hated it when I started smellin' it 'cause it always meant 'nother 'therapy sesh'," Harley answers with a little snarl on her lips.<br/>
<br/>
Jon's lips drop open but Damian pounces on the words like a cat to a rabbit. "What do you mean therapy sessions? Surely they don't let that man test his experiments on you," Damian says.<br/>
<br/>
Ivy raises an eyebrow and Punchline snorts from up front. "Of course he does. Who else would he have full access to like he has with us?" she murmurs. Jon tries to push down his anger but it doesn't make sense.<br/>
<br/>
"I don't understand, though. Don't-don't the guards or someone notice it all?" Jon sputters, fingers clenching and unclenching in his lap. The Joker giggles and waves a hand at the two of them.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh puh-leez. We've killed so many people. I'm positive every guard or staff member in that place has had someone important to them killed by someone in there. 'S'why they all look the other way when Crane requests someone for his 'special treatments'," he says.<br/>
<br/>
Poison Ivy slams her fist down on the bench they're seated on. "Rotten little Aphid always gets his way. It's hell, little ones. Hell."<br/>
<br/>
Damian watches her re-cork the vial and he crosses his arms over his chest. He knows his father has gone in undercover. He knows he's made plans to put in place a serious re-staffing and redesign of Arkham but Damian didn't know things were this bad. He'd never thought about what happened after they caught the criminals and given them over to the police.<br/>
<br/>
Jon takes the vial back from Ivy while Damian tosses the Joker back his knife. Jon ignores their curious looks and nudges Damian. They both know what they need to do.<br/>
<br/>
Go back to the cave.<br/>
<br/>
Damian leans over Punchline's seat and says, "Mind dropping us off at a corner near the house? We're not gonna be able to do shit anymore until Carter's taken care of. I'm going to put father's best on this."<br/>
<br/>
Punchline watches him with keen eyes and asks, "What about our money? We need that four million, Wayne."<br/>
<br/>
Damian waves his hand with a smirk. "Don't worry about it. I'll have it delivered on time," he says. Punchline looks to where the Joker and Ivy sit in the back.<br/>
<br/>
"What do you think?" she asks. The Joker watches them with considering eyes and nods once in approval. Poison Ivy shrugs but Harley pouts from where she kneels in her seat backwards.<br/>
<br/>
She whines, "Aww, that's not fair! I like ya two cuties. Yer a real riot, especially while spooked!" Jon shudders as he thinks back to Bud and Lou's pissed off expressions.<br/>
<br/>
"Thank you...I think?" Jon replies hesitantly. Harley laughs and leans over the seat to pinch his cheeks.<br/>
<br/>
"Yer welcome, sugar," Harley chirps. Punchline makes a sudden turn at the nearest light and and they begin to head off toward Wayne Manor.<br/>
<br/>
They spend the rest of the drive listening to the Joker belt out:<br/>
<br/>
"...there ain't no rest for the wicked<br/>
Money don't grow on trees<br/>
I got bills to pay, I got mouths to feed<br/>
Ain't nothing in this world for free,"<br/>
<br/>
Soon, Harley joins in. Together, they sounded like two wailing cats who've had their tails trampled on. Lou and Bud join in after a time to add in their howls and wheezes to the voices already taking up the van.<br/>
<br/>
Poison Ivy's face is a mixture between exasperated and amused. Punchline soon joins in, her voice smooth and silky. It's not long until Jon joins in with a wide grin on his face.<br/>
<br/>
It feels surreal, Jon thinks, dancing around a van with Harley Quinn and the Joker. They twirl, and sway, and Jon shrieks with both exhilaration and surprise when Harley passes him off to the Joker, who dips him lower than Jon was expecting. He meets Damian's eyes briefly before he's up and stumbling again.<br/>
<br/>
It's not long before they're pulling up the drive of Wayne Manor. Jon and Damian hurry to stuff the bag full of their things again, paper and vial carefully wrapped in the bloodied clothes.<br/>
<br/>
They say their good-byes, Ivy reminding them firmly to get them the money while Harley says a tearful farewell. They head out, giving Bud and Lou one last fur ruffle before hopping from the back of the van. They wave as the van rounds the circular drive and down the long driveway.<br/>
<br/>
Damian's shoulders slump and he looks to Jon incredulously. "I cannot believe you danced with them," he says as they make their way to the front doors. Jon laughs and bumps Damian with his shoulder.<br/>
<br/>
"I can't believe you sang with us," Jon replies. Damian's cheeks turn a bit red but he shakes his head.<br/>
<br/>
"I did no such thing. Your hearing must be off."<br/>
<br/>
"My hearing is perfectly fine, thank you. I heard you sing along, Dami."<br/>
<br/>
"I didn't! I-I'll admit that I may have hummed but I did not sing!"<br/>
<br/>
Jon laughs and says, "You did! And you're not half bad, either." Damian's face reddens and the other boy has to laugh at the expression he wears. Jon slides a hand in Damian's and squeezes it with a smile. "You're cute when you get flustered like that," he murmurs.<br/>
<br/>
Damian rolls his eyes but smiles. He knocks on the door firmly. They only have to wait a few moments until the door is pulled open and Alfred stands there. His eyes are wide and he lets out a shuddering breath.<br/>
<br/>
"Master Damian...Master Jon...you're alright." Alfred says. Damian shrugs and Jon laughs with a nod.<br/>
<br/>
Damian shuffles forward and lets Alfred pull him into a hug. Jon's eyes soften at the scene before him.<br/>
<br/>
Damian didn't often let others touch him. Oh, Jon had earned the privilege overtime but it still made it smile whenever someone else took the time to give Damian affection as well. Although Damian sometimes complains about it he always wears a pleased look on his face when pulled into a hug.<br/>
<br/>
Alfred pulls back to examine him carefully. He looks to Jon and pulls the boy into the hug as well. Jon feels the warmth in his chest spread and hugs back with a happy noise. Damian finally begins to wriggle free and Alfred releases them.<br/>
<br/>
"Where have you been?" Alfred asks. Jon and Damian look to each other and Jon plays with the strap of the bag awkwardly.<br/>
<br/>
"It's a little hard to explain right now. And...we're going to have to leave again soon," Jon tells him. Alfred's eyes flit between them, worry prominent, but they both ignore it. Alfred sighs and nods.<br/>
<br/>
Damian thanks the man quietly as he shuts the door and locks it properly behind them. They move across the mansion quickly until they're in Bruce's study. This was the nearest entrance, and Alfred pulls the correct books from their spaces to move the bookcase aside.<br/>
<br/>
Alfred lets them go first. They shuffle down the stairs for awhile until they stumble straight into the cave where Tim sits at the computer with files pulled up. Cass and Jason are nowhere to be found but Dick's head snaps up from where he's reading something over on the screen behind Tim.<br/>
<br/>
"Dami..." Dick is at their side in seconds to scoop Damian into a hug. Damian struggles, slapping at the man's shoulder with a furious expression on his face.<br/>
<br/>
Tim is on his feet in seconds with wild eyes. "Where have you two been?! We've been worried sick, especially after that fucking news thing. We thought you were..." Tim trails off and Damian finally frees himself.<br/>
<br/>
"I've got no time to explain this to you. We've got things to do. Come on, Jon, let's hurry. We don't know who saw us arrive here," Damian says. Jon shoots them an smile as an apology but they quickly take over the Batcomputer.<br/>
<br/>
Jon digs out the vial and the paper. Damian tugs out the bloodied clothes and tosses them to Tim. "Make yourself useful, Drake, and get that blood identified," Damian demands. Tim sputters.<br/>
<br/>
"What?! What's going on, Damian? Who's clothes are these? You still haven't told us where you've been or how you got away from the Joker as Damian Wayne and Jon Kent!" Tim explodes. Jon winces at the noise but begins to ready the analyser.<br/>
<br/>
Damian growls, "Jon convinced me to help him steal a car but unfortunately for us it belonged to someone who partnered with someone who spells a lot of trouble for everyone."<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, that's an understatement. But you love me anyway, don't you?" Jon snickers as he pours a third of the sample in another, smaller vial and places it into the moveable compartment of the analysis machine.<br/>
<br/>
Damian swats him gently and throws himself into the chair. The two dive head first into the work. The others in the room eventually stop their interrogation when they realise it won't earn them any more information.<br/>
<br/>
"Jon, come here. Look at this." Damian calls. Jon leaves from where he watches the tall machine whirr almost silently. He drapes himself over the back of the chair Damian sits in and reads over the information out loud more for his own benefit.<br/>
<br/>
"Andrew Michael Carter....born in Oregon...moved when he was nine to Gotham. His background seems to be rather clean, actually. That's...weird," Jon murmurs. Damian nods and flips screens to a news article from a small town in Oregon's newspaper.<br/>
<br/>
"I hunted this down and found out his name was changed. In fact, he and his mother changed their names when they moved here. Father died just three weeks before that in a robbery. Very bloody, very gruesome," Damian tells Jon.<br/>
<br/>
Jon hisses when he sees the pictures. A man with dark hair and a dark colored beard lays on a blue, carpeted floor. His body is ripped open from stomach to chest. His ribs and organs are exposed for all to see. The man's throat is slit so deeply it looks like the man was on his way to being decapitated, the muscle bloody and shown off for the world to see.<br/>
<br/>
"Damn...doesn't sound like a typical burglar to me," Jon comments. Damian nods and navigates to another page that's full of names, addresses, and phone numbers. The addresses are all highly similar, and some names are highlighted.<br/>
<br/>
"Not very likely. Now this list is all the people that lived near Carter's childhood home. At the time he was known as Klara Kuzmich, a golden star little girl who went to Church every Sunday, got amazing grades, and was well-behaved and quiet. These highlighted names are all those who regularly reported anything from acts of violence seen in their front yard, disturbing the peace, sounds of screaming or crying, etc. etc." Damian says.<br/>
<br/>
Jon can feel his heart sinking even further. "Christ, Dami. That's, what, seven people?" Jon says softly. Damian nods and gives a bitter laugh.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah and it gets worse. A month before the father was killed Andrew apparently went to the police. Told them his father had been beating him and his mother, sexually assaulted him twice, and had almost made good on a promise to kill him. Police dismissed it because Carter's father was a 'respectable man to the community'. Nobody thought he'd do something like that," Damian says, barely contained anger in his expression and words.<br/>
<br/>
Jon heaves out a heavy sigh. He then asks, "What about after they moved. Where'd he go to school? And University?" Damian switches screens again.<br/>
<br/>
Damian replies with, "Went to Berkeley and got a bachelors in Psychology. Came back here and landed a nice job in Arkham for awhile. One very important thing happened while he was at Berkeley, though. Two months into the new year there was a girl found dead in her dorm. Organs were missing completely. Nobody was ever brought in for it. Case is still open today, apparently."<br/>
<br/>
Jon can feel his shoulders slumping. "Jesus...." he breathes when he sees the pictures. The girl's eyes are opened wide and unseeing. Her tongue is missing completely, clearly ripped from her throat. Her stomach and chest are cracked wide open, intenstines and other organs spilling from her body.<br/>
<br/>
Her hands have been sawed clean off, bone clearly exposed. Jon grimaces and shakes his head. "Alright. What are we going to do next? We still have to wait for the blood analysis and Crane's creation analysis. That's probably going to take at least a day," Jon says.<br/>
<br/>
Damian leans back in his chair. His eyes narrow as he reads over the information silently, then looks back at Jon. "We go to Arkham and we find out what the hell they're planning through who they've experimented on," Damian tells him.<br/>
<br/>
Jon's heart nearly stops at those words. It looks like they were going to pay Arkham Asylum a little visit.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Next up: Family drama and a nice family outing to Arkham. </p><p>so uh Andrew's backstory wasn't supposed to be this sad. He legit was supposed to be just a bastard rich kid who murders people but this chapter wrote itself basically</p><p>also i love crane. hes so fucking wack and i thought since i first started this fic hed make a PERFECT addition to this story. he's gonna get a lot of scene time later but not yet! most frustrating thing was trying to figure out what the fuck his toxin is made from. only thing that mentioned it was a brief mention of blue poppies so im gonna have to create it myself ig</p><p>I'm playing around a bit with the ending. I know exactly how I need this to end rn and how to get there but I have two versions in mind and I'll have to choose between which I like better. I might even post which ever ending I don't choose just so y'all could see what happens idk</p><p>why joker and them let damian and jon go so easily will be explained later ik some of yall will be annoyed and/or curious about that</p><p>Lastly! Next update might not be in this fic itself but instead be in the series with my first little side story!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Dollhouse</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Questioning criminals and getting stuck in Arkham; fun for the whole family!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>here's another update for y'all who are actually reading this story. </p>
<p>if you havent noticed yet-i added a little smaller fic to the series :)) another will be coming soon, too, so be on the look out for that! </p>
<p>as always please lemme know about grammar and spelling so i can fix it right up since i edit these myself.</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"What do you mean you're taking a trip to Arkham. Dami, you've barely explained what the hell is going on!" Dick shouts. He looks stressed and confused, and Damian feels a little bad for being the source of it again.<br/>
</p>
<p>Before either Jon or Damian can think about answering the growl of an engine gets louder. Damian turns in the chair and watches Jason nearly tip over his bike in his haste to get off. He chucks his helmet to the side and points at Damian.<br/>
</p>
<p>"Do not ever do that shit again, demon spawn," Jason snarls. Damian rolls his eyes and sneers as he stands in front of the man.<br/>
</p>
<p>Damian says, "Oh please, Todd, spare me the dramatics. Jon and I are fine and will continue to be fine. If you think I'd get bested by those clowns-" Damian starts but Jason snags him by the arms.<br/>
</p>
<p>"That's what I fucking thought too until I died, Damian! I <em>died</em>! You can't do that shit to us," Jason explodes. Damian's jaw clenches and he rips his arms from Jason's grasp. Jon steps between them awkwardly and holds up his hands when twin glares land on him.<br/>
<br/>
They really were too similar. Jon fears for whoever is on the other end of their combined wrath.<br/>
<br/>
"Okay, let's calm down here. Dami, we're gonna explain through what happened when everyone gets here so we don't have to explain twice. Then, we can get this shit going, yeah?"<br/>
<br/>
Jason looks between them but throws his hands into the air and storms off to where Alfred sits.<br/>
<br/>
It takes another ten minutes for Barbara and Cass to return, together unsurprisingly, and Cass nearly runs over to Damian. She smiles at him wordlessly and holds out her arms. Damian accepts the hug with some grumbling but lets her get her fill.<br/>
<br/>
She moves on to Jon next, arms wrapping around him to pull him in a long hug. Jon laughs and carefully manuevers an arm around her shoulders until she finally wriggles free. Barbara is looking between the two of them with keen eyes.<br/>
<br/>
Tim finally looks up from where he's seated on a nearby table. "Alright, Damian. We're all here, now, so talk," he demands.<br/>
<br/>
Damian rolls his eyes and points to Jon. Jon rubs at his face and his shoulders slump. "I convinced Damian to steal a car with me. We were bored as hell and it was my idea. We got it pretty quickly but <em>unfortunately</em> it belonged to Magpie. Pretty big crimelord who's working with Scarecrow. Long story short; we're being chased by them for that sample I put in the analyser."<br/>
<br/>
Tim's mouth drops open and he laughs. Dick glares at the man but Tim can't seem to stop. He says, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry, but that's too fucking funny. Of all the goddamn cars, Jon. Jesus Christ."<br/>
<br/>
Jon snorts and leans back against the table that holds the Batcomputer. "I know, Tim, believe me. Dami's already yelled at me, like, three times already."<br/>
<br/>
Dick waves his hands and gives Tim and Jon a glare. "We've gotten off topic. You're not going to Arkham by yourself!" Dick shouts. Damian takes another step toward his brother and points at him, teeth bared.<br/>
<br/>
"You've been there <em>millions</em> of times and you were even younger than me. Don't be such a hypocrite, Grayson. Besides," Damian jerks his thumb toward Jon, "he'll be with me. Nobody in Arkham has the supplies to stop Superdork over here," he says.<br/>
<br/>
Jon bumps Damian's shoulder playfully but nods. "Yeah, we''ll be fine. At least there's no hyenas this time," Jon jokes. Damian slaps Jon on the arm but can't help his amused smile.<br/>
<br/>
"You're not wrong. I'm only disappointed we didn't ride the Ferris Wheel," Damian says. Jon raises an eyebrow as the boy looks away back to where Jason stands with his arms crossed over his chest. He and Dick both look extremely sour but Barbara shakes her head, a hand over her eyes.<br/>
<br/>
Barbara says, "Look, Damian, as much as we'd love to let you to go there by yourself and keep doing....whatever you're doing, we can't. Not only will we <em>never</em> hear the end of it from your fathers when they inevitably hear about this, they will kill us."<br/>
<br/>
Cass weasels her way between Damian and Jon before Damian can blow up at her. She glances between both of them and smiles.<br/>
<br/>
"We all go."<br/>
<br/>
Damian's mouth drops open. "We-we can't <em>all</em> go. That's-<em>Cass</em>!" he protests. Cass only smiles up at him until his shoulders slump. It was nearly impossible to deny his sister anything. In fact, the only one that could was Alfred.<br/>
<br/>
Tim snorts. "Uh, yeah, no way. I'm not going into that place with the demon spawn of all people. Sorry, Cass," Tim says. Cass turns her gaze to Tim and it only takes a few seconds for the man's shoulders to slump.<br/>
<br/>
"Or...maybe I am."<br/>
<br/>
Alfred stands and looks a little more satisfied. He nods to Cass and the girl beams at him. Damian grits his teeth when he spots their expressions. Those two working together was too much for anyone, really. Jon's seen what they can do together and it's awe inspiring.<br/>
<br/>
Dick claps his hands together once. He says, "I like that idea, Cass. Are we all in agreement?" Tim rolls his eyes but nods in agreement. Jason shoots Dick a finger gun and clicks his tongue (Jon's not actually sure what that means but he's taking it as agreement), while Damian mumbles his approval. Dick nods in satisfaction.<br/>
<br/>
"Then let's get ready, shall we?"<br/>
<br/>
Damian grumbles but turns to head up the stairs again for a shower before he changed into his suit. Jon follows quickly and slides an arm around Damian's shoulders. "It's not so bad, Dami, cheer up. It's just going to be an hour max in there. And, hey, nobody teased you about these, either," Jon chirps as he captures an edge of Damian's shirt.<br/>
<br/>
Damian looks away to relunctantly admit, "I...<em>may</em> have discovered a recent, er, fondness for these clothes. They're not...terrible."<br/>
<br/>
Jon smiles at the words and nods once. He tells him, "No, they're not. I told you; they look good on you."<br/>
<br/>
The other boy doesn't respond but the faint, pleased flush on his cheeks tells Jon everything. They split up to head into two different bathrooms and shower quickly. When he finishes Jon feels eons better than he did before, skin scrubbed and hair washed. His even manages to brush his teeth (and Jesus, did he need that) afterward.<br/>
<br/>
He burrows in one of the spare robes he knows are kept folded in the cabinet under the sink. It's comfortable and soft against his skin. Jon hasn't slept for a full night in awhile and right now he just wants to crawl into bed and pass out even though he knows he can't.<br/>
<br/>
Damn these criminals.<br/>
<br/>
He wanders from the bathroom back down to the cave rather quickly. Damian is buckling his suit's belt around his waist while Dick twirls his batons between his fingers idly. Jason is cleaning out one of his favored guns, and Barbara is adjusting her suit once more, exchanging gadjets with Cass. Tim has a foot kicked up while he works on getting his boots on.<br/>
<br/>
Damian doesn't even bother looking up. He points back to where his costume is and smirks. "Father took the liberty of having a newer, better version of your suit kept here."<br/>
<br/>
Jon gapes but hurries over to where his suit hangs in an available clear case. He looks to the sticky note that reads: 9491520. Jon punches in the numbers and looks back over the note in confusion. Then, he turns back to Damian with a sneer.<br/>
<br/>
"Really, Dami? Idiot?" Jon asks as he floats up to grasp the costume off of the hook. He forgets about the other boy's joke as he admires the sleek outfit. It's heavily influenced by his Pa's own costume. It's got modifications, such as the material being tougher than what his dad wears. The colors are even less vibrant and bright than his Pa's costume.<br/>
<br/>
Jon adores it already.<br/>
<br/>
He hurries as he disrobes and wriggles into it. He ignores Damian's embarrassed noise from behind him, as well as Jason and Barbara's cackling at Damian's reaction. He's in the suit quicker than he realizes and looks over it with an excited laugh.<br/>
<br/>
"Holy shit! Thank your dad for me when you see him next, Dami. This is awesome!" Jon says while he bounces around in the boots, trying to get used to the feeling of them. Damian bounds over and lifts of the cape with a raised brow. Jon nods and stills himself to let the other boy clip the cape over his shoulders.<br/>
<br/>
"There. Now, don't get this thing ruined. Father's only had one made so far."<br/>
<br/>
Jon nods obediently and Jason gives an impatient noise. Damian's softened face turns irritated and he stalks off to shout at Jason instead. Dick passes by him and claps a hand on his shoulder.<br/>
<br/>
Jon turns to look at him. Dick grins and asks, "Ready?" Jon nods and they turn to see Tim already on the backseat of Jason's bike, a cheeky grin on his face as he looks back at them.<br/>
<br/>
"Try to keep up, losers!" he shouts over Jason revving the engine. Damian lets out an outraged shout from where he stands and he rushes to say a quick farewell to Alfred before he's running to his own bike.<br/>
<br/>
Barbara groans, waves to Alfred, and grabs Cass' hand. "Come on. I'm <em>not</em> letting Jason and Tim lord this over us!" she says. Cass nods and climbs onto the back of Barbara's bike. Dick rolls his eyes but straddles his motorcycle to follow them, batons secure on his hips and helmet over his head in seconds.<br/>
<br/>
Jon stands awkwardly for a moment in the silence of the cave. Then, he wanders over to where Alfred sits and seats himself on the table nearby. "Do...do you think they'll realize I can wait here and get there in less than a minute?" Jon asks.<br/>
<br/>
Alfred laughs and reaches over to pat Jon's hand. "Let them have their fun for a bit before you burst their bubble," he says. Jon smiles and nods, eyes drifting down to his lap. Alfred watches him for a few silent moments until he sighs and squeezes Jon's hand once. Jon looks up in confusion.<br/>
<br/>
Alfred says, "I want you to be careful, Jon. I know you're more powerful, and more protected than my other boys, but that still doesn't mean you cannot get hurt. I want you to stay safe and alert at all times."<br/>
<br/>
Jon nods and finds himself smiling. It was sweet of him to care. Alfred took care of everyone, it seemed. Even those who weren't apart of his family.<br/>
<br/>
"Thank you, Alfred. I'll try, I promise," Jon murmurs.<br/>
<br/>
"That's all I ask of you," Alfred replies. He looks up to the ceiling and smiles. "How would you like to teach me that game you and Damian sometimes play? Hm, what was the name...ah! Mario Kart!"<br/>
<br/>
Jon's eyes light up. "Yeah! Come on, Alfred, I'll show you how to be a pro in no time!" Jon says, floating up in his excitement. The elder man stands carefully and Jon flies backwards lazily as they make their way up the stairs from the Batcave to the living room.<br/>
<br/>
They start up the game and manage to fit in playing through two cups, Alfred winning both much to Jon's befuddlement, before Jon has to meet up with the others. He heads out with a cheerful goodbye after extracting a promise from Alfred to play again sometime.<br/>
<br/>
Jon climbs out of the window and soon finds himself soaring through the air. A joyful laugh leaves his chest as he glides. The wind whips through his cape and his hair ruffles rapidily with it.<br/>
<br/>
It doesn't take him long to land at the front gates of Arkham. The figure who waits at the guard booth double takes, gum popping in surprise. The man drops his magazene and leans out the little window to speak to him.<br/>
<br/>
"You, uh, got some business here, Superboy?" he asks. Jon beams and bounds up closer to the window, eyes bright.<br/>
<br/>
Jon says, "Me and, uh, a couple other heroes need to talk to the Arkham patients if you wouldn't mind."<br/>
<br/>
The guard's eyes narrow and he tips his head. "What for?" he demands. Jon's own posture changes when the man's body begins to tense and Jon holds himself up against the window.<br/>
<br/>
"I don't think that's really any of your business, sir. We're here on official business. What that is exactly is none of your concern," Jon says slowly.<br/>
<br/>
The guard sneers. "You're about to enter a facility of dangerous criminals to let them do God knows what. You heroes are all the same, you know? Soft. What you should be doing, instead of making these fuckers our problems, is offing them once and for all! So I'll ask again; what's your business here?" the man snarls.<br/>
<br/>
Jon leans into the booth to pull the guard closer to him by the collar of his uniform. He can feel his eyes warming and the man makes a horrified noise at the sight. Jon smirks and leans further until he can whisper comfortably to the man.<br/>
<br/>
"Listen here, sir. What we heroes do here is none of your concern. I know how you like to play around here with the patients. That's going to end, I promise. I don't care <em>what</em> they did to make you so hateful to them but I'm going to make <em>sure</em> you lose your job if I find out you were a problem in there. This is Gotham, sir, grow up. Everyone here's got problems," Jon hisses.<br/>
<br/>
The man hits at Jon's arms but Jon just tightens his grip. "Let go of me! You can't fucking do this to me! This is abuse of power!" the man shouts.<br/>
<br/>
Jon laughs. "Oh, sir, I can do whatever I please," he drawls, channeling as much as Selina Kyle's aura as he can. "Now, you're going to let me and the others through without a fuss and you're going to keep your fat mouth shut or I <em>will</em> burn you to a crisp right here and now," he finishes.<br/>
<br/>
The guard looks furious but has the good sense to nod. Jon releases him just as the sound of howling engines reaches his ears. Jon backs out of the booth and floats in the air in a sitting position, one leg crossed over the other.<br/>
<br/>
Jason and Tim arrive first. Tim has a fresh bruise on his jaw and Jon already knows Damian's going to have injuries too. Barbara and Cass screech to a halt at the same time as Damian. Barbara pulls off her helmet and shakes out her hair.<br/>
<br/>
"You cheated!" she shouts with an amused grin on her glossy lips. Dick finally rolls up to park at a much more relaxed pace and laughs at Cass' disappointed face turned toward Tim and Damian.<br/>
<br/>
Damian's sporting a split lip but he doesn't seem to care one bit as he stomps over from where his bike has been parked. Jason points to Jon with an incredulous look on his face.<br/>
<br/>
"You wanna talk about cheating?! That little shit got here first and didn't even tell us he wouldn't tag along with demon spawn over there!" Jason shouts. Barbara rolls her eyes and slaps the man on the shoulder.<br/>
<br/>
Tim props his arms on the security guard's booth. "We're gonna need to-" he starts but Jon waves his hand to interrupt him.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, don't worry about that. He's already admitted us entry. Haven't you?" Jon looks to the man with a sickly sweet smile. The teenager is delighted when the man nods quickly, eyes darting between him and where Tim stands.<br/>
<br/>
He presses the button to open the gates and Tim shoots Jon an odd look. "Huh...normally I have to talk to them forever to get them to let me through without Bats," Tim comments. Jon shrugs.<br/>
<br/>
"Oh, he wasn't so bad. He was very eager to please once I, ah, let him know the situation."<br/>
<br/>
Damian's eyes light up with understanding and he looks undoubtedly pleased now, thunderous expression gone from his face. He shoots Jon a look of approval and Jon's face goes warm. He didn't do it for Damian's validation but it did feel nice to get.<br/>
<br/>
They stroll through the gates, Jason whistling as he looks over the building. It seems to have gone through a worse beating than anyone remembers.<br/>
<br/>
Jon finds that the insides look worse. There's a front desk that has various chips in it. The floors look filthier than Jon wants, and the technology around, while rather advanced, is still abused looking.<br/>
<br/>
The atmosphere is even worse. The woman at the front desk looks angry, clicking her pen idly while she talks with a nurse. Everyone who passes by looks angry, and miserable, and the screaming from everyone imprisoned is making it worse. This place sucks, Jon thinks.<br/>
<br/>
Barbara and Dick stride forward together. The woman at the desk notices and turns in her chair. "What is it?" she asks, sounding exhausted.<br/>
<br/>
Dick gives her a sympathetic smile and says, "We're here to talk to some patients. We think someone has information that could help us on reeling in a criminal who's about to put in motion something rather, ah, lethal."<br/>
<br/>
Barbara nods and continues, "We'd like to speak to someone that was under Doctor Crane's care?" she says. The woman's face sours and her shoulders slump.<br/>
<br/>
"Fuck...alright, look; he worked with everyone here. The best I can give you, sweetheart, is the ones he went to the most and who are still in this building," the woman says.<br/>
<br/>
Dick and Barbara meet eyes and Damian watches the woman closely. He leans over to Jon as the woman looks up a list on her computer. "Joker was right. She's not angry because Crane was experimenting on the patients but rather because she knows she's been caught. She knows she's going to lose her job," Damian murmurs almost silently. Jon nods and crosses his arms over his chest.<br/>
<br/>
"Guard outside seemed rather angry at us for not killing our criminals. Definately needs a complete clean out when your dad gets back," Jon adds.<br/>
<br/>
Damian nods in agreement and Jason jerks his head to the right. "Let's go, shall we?" he says with an eyebrow raised. Damian and Jon follow behind him rather easily. Tim is eyeing the dirtied walls and squealing carts as they walk down the hallway, Barbara and Dick leading the way.<br/>
<br/>
Tim says, "I know dad has been putting in more money for this place. You'd think they'd be fixing it up. Wonder whose paycheck it's all going into because it's certainly not theirs..."<br/>
<br/>
"Why wouldn't he...put a halt if...money's disappearing?" Cass questions softly. Damian nudges Cass gently but it's Dick that speaks up, drifting back to answer her quietly.<br/>
<br/>
"Dad knows what he's doing. Probably wants irrefutable evidence. I heard Al and him talking sometime before he left. Said something about...I think it was uncover work, if I'm remembering right. Might bring it all to the Commissioner after some file searching," Dick tells her.<br/>
<br/>
Cass' expression clears but Barbara snorts from the front of their little group. She says, "Believe me, it won't take much. Commissioner just been itching for a reason to look into it."<br/>
<br/>
Jon's brows furrow in confusion. "Why couldn't he before? I mean, look at this place," he gestures from the walls, to the creaking stairs, to the water dripping in the corner from a leaking pipes.<br/>
<br/>
"Health Inspectors kept coming back with reports saying everything was fine. Obviously they were paid off but," Barbara quietens when they have to pass two armed guards to get through to where the cells are. She pushes open the door and they all file through. Once the door closes behind them firmly she continues in a whisper, "he could never prove anything. He'd jump at the chance to finally put an official investigation into this place."<br/>
<br/>
Jon runs his tongue over his teeth. This was starting to make him want to check in to Stryker's Island Penitentiary. He made a note to himself to do so after all of this was over.<br/>
<br/>
They pass by silent guards as they make their way past filled cells. Some seem to be in the process of being repaired, bars broken off and room overturned. Jon's brows furrow when he notices the amount of blood left in some of the rooms. He isn't sure if someone murdered a guard or two on the way out or if it's a patient's own blood. Jon's not sure which he'd rather it be.<br/>
<br/>
Dick stops in front of a cell. He clears his throat and waits until a jumpsuited man looks up. A rasping chuckle echoes and Jon feels uneasy as Harvey Dent stands from where he was sitting on his cot and wanders closer to the bars.<br/>
<br/>
His eyes flit between the group and he says, "I see you've brought the whole family, eh? What's the occasion? I think I've been rather polite since I've been checked in here."<br/>
<br/>
Dick crosses his arms over his chest. "We're looking into Crane's experiments. Nurse at the front desk said you were one of his personal favorites. What can you tell us, Mr. Dent?"<br/>
<br/>
Harvey watches them carefully. His coin flips through the air rhythmically until the man finally looks up with a grin. "Heads I tell you everything I know, tails I don't say a word," the man murmurs.<br/>
<br/>
Jon watches the coin shoot up and land in the man's palm. He holds out his other hand in a fist. He slaps the coin on the back of his fist and chuckles lightly when he sees the result. Harvey begins to flip the coin again and meets Dick's eyes.<br/>
<br/>
"What do you want to know exactly?" Dick's shoulders drop the slightest bit in relief. Damian jerks his head and Jon nods, floating up to make his way to the front.<br/>
Jon asks, "What was the normal procedure when Crane requested you? Was it routine, random...?"<br/>
<br/>
Dent blows out a breath through his nose. "I can't speak for the others but Crane always made my sessions random. They'd last at most six hours but the toxin never left until later," he says. Damian nods slowly.<br/>
<br/>
"How many people were usually with him?" he asks.<br/>
<br/>
"Only that one guy. Magpie. Always wore this-this bird mask. It was gaudy, I won't lie. Make no mistake here; Crane is the bigger threat. That man is a genius and shows it in his creations and the way he plays every staff member of this fucking place so well," Harvey says.<br/>
<br/>
Jason leans his hip against the bars of the cell. "Tell us about Magpie, then. We know what Crane is like but Magpie's never pinged our radar as heavily," Jason requests.<br/>
<br/>
Harvey flips his coin a few times and lets it dance across his fingers. "Quiet little thing, really. He was just as smart as Crane but...well, like I said before; Crane is the bigger threat. He's got that guy under his spell."<br/>
<br/>
Damian's brows shoot up. "What, like mind control? Not really Crane's style," he says and Dick makes an agreeing noise. Cass is the one to shake her head, however.<br/>
<br/>
She says, "Love," and Dent nods his approval. Damian's face turns sour but before he can make a comment Harvey continues.<br/>
<br/>
"That's right. Kid's head over heels for Crane, listens to that man blindly. Magpie's in love and Crane sure as hell doesn't love him but he pretends. He needs the help. Once he gets it," Harvey slides his thumb across his neck, "Magpie's a goner. Poor, naive bastard."<br/>
<br/>
Damian nods in understanding and Dick sighs. "Thank you for your time, Mr. Dent. We'll have Crane on the other side of the bars soon," he says. Harvey eyes them for a few silent moments and nods.<br/>
<br/>
"If you want better information on what the serum was like, I'd go to Waylon. He was one of Crane's favorites because of the different genes," Harvey tells them. Barbara nods.<br/>
<br/>
"He was already on our list but thank you."<br/>
<br/>
Harvey moves back to his cot to sit back down. Before the group can move out of sight completely he says, "Bruce hasn't come to visit in awhile...would you-would you tell him to stop by sometime?"<br/>
<br/>
Tim turns around with a surprised expression. None of them really realized Bruce kept contact with Dent but Tim's face softens and he says, "I-uh-heard Mr. Wayne is out of town on a business trip. I'll let him know when he returns, though, if you'd like."<br/>
<br/>
Harvey doesn't look up at them when Tim speaks. He only nods and flips his coin once more. Jon watches for another few seconds before floating to the front of the group with Damian. They walk ahead of the group, eyeing a bloody handprint that cuts off rather abruptly.<br/>
<br/>
"Place really, <em>really</em> needs help..." Jon murmurs. Damian snorts and nods his agreement.<br/>
<br/>
The sirens begin to blare, suddenly. Jon drops to the ground fully and covers his ears with a grimace crossing his face. Everyone freezes in place when a metal barrier slams down between the two boys and the rest of the group.<br/>
<br/>
A hand bangs on the door and Jon flinches. "Are you two alright?!" Jason's voice asks over the alarms howl.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, we're fine, Todd! Figure out what the hell is going on, would you? Jon and I are going to go ahead!" Damian calls. Dick and Jason make outraged nosies in unison but Damian's already guiding Jon away.<br/>
<br/>
Jon lets out a nervous laugh. "Off to see Waylon Jones, are we? All by ourselves?" Damian scoffs and leads Jon around the corner to the right. The guards have seemed to disappear and they hurry along in case someone appears to question them.<br/>
<br/>
"We'll be fine, Jon, stop worrying."<br/>
<br/>
Jon stops worrying.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>hope you enjoyed this chapter. ik no big action stuff happened but these boys needed some information and will meet an important character next chapter so yaaay (also i wanted dent to show up i love him)</p>
<p>title is Dollhouse, Melanie Martinez and I thought it was rather fitting for this since arkham looks wack on the outside but even worse inside lmao</p>
<p>just to be clear; i am NOT putting andrew/magpie with crane. andrew is in love w crane but crane doesnt love him and is literally just using him for his brain, power, and supplies. i figure with his kinda shitty childhood carter (unfortunately like me) would immediately fall for the first person to show him affection and attention. andrew, of course, scrambles to please crane for more attention and so crane can play him like a fiddle. i accidentally turned andrew from a smarmy man i was gonna kill off to a character i enjoy writing and will have a (sorta???) happy ending but not really? its complicated yall will see i dont wanna spoil too much.</p>
<p>please kudo and comment! i love comments sm yall u dont understand i was on the moon when i got comments on my other fic.</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Interlude-Alfred</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Digging a little bit more into Mr. Andrew Carter's history w Alfred :)</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>i completely lied last chapter we don't meet the sorta important character until next chapter. i totally forgot i had this one lined up next until i saw it halfway finished in my files. my bad lmao</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Alfred goes through his daily routine of cleaning with worry gnawing at his brain. Although he knows they're all skilled and can protect themselves he can't help but feel like something will go wrong. That things are only going to get worse from hereonout.<br/>
<br/>
He pushes those thoughts aside and gathers up the clothes left hanging on the bathroom hooks. Some spots on the jeans are still damp but they seem to have dried although they smell like salt water now. He collects anything else that has been left and sorts it into diferent baskets to take into the laundry room to be washed.<br/>
<br/>
Alfred is just checking the pockets of the jacket Damian wore for anything they may have left behind that might get ruined in the wash when his fingers close around a slip of paper. He pulls it out and crinkles his nose at the bleeding ink from being soaked. Alfred brings it closer to his face and his lips tighten.<br/>
<br/>
Alicia Camski<br/>
<br/>
Alexander "Lex" Luthor<br/>
<br/>
Meg Jameson<br/>
<br/>
The rest of the names are cut off. The last name, Meg, has a line running straight through it. The implications are damning and Alfred knows this was already in the jacket. It seems like Mr. Andrew Carter was a rather busy man, then.<br/>
<br/>
Alfred sets the item on the dryer momentarily and loads the clothes into the washer. He makes sure to start it up properly before he takes the paper back in hand and heads back down to the cave. It seems like every day that passes he spends more and more time down there.<br/>
<br/>
He makes use of the computer to search for both names. A lot comes up but Alfred easily wades through the social media posts until he finds a relevant story.<br/>
<br/>
Jameson was a reporter for some tabloid that got shut down only a year ago. She'd been one of their most frequent writers and had dragged quite a few names through the mud. Alfred barely remembers it, had more important things to worry about, but she knows she had written something on Cobblepot and Bruce. Of course, both their lawyers had jumped right on it but that woman had never stopped in her writings, it seems.<br/>
<br/>
She was now dead.<br/>
<br/>
Police claimed it was faulty wiring in her home but when Alfred examines the autopsy report he finds himself concerned. The woman's tongue had been cut from her mouth. Alfred supposes they didn't put it out there for fear of panicking the public. Her house had been in flames and that was her apparent cause of death, making it easy to cover up her missing tongue.<br/>
<br/>
Alfred digs deeper into her history. There's an old article from this very city he finds after another ten minutes of searching that has him pausing. He opens the page and reads through it.<br/>
<br/>
It's from an flashy school newspaper but the information is still good. Alfred looks over the website and isn't surprised to see it's on Carter's old highschool's website. The article is a little hard to read since it's been scanned and uploaded but Alfred skims it.<br/>
</p>
<p></p><blockquote>
  <p><br/>
<em>In a shocking turn of events, this weekend Meghan Jameson (grade 11) has finally placed in first over Klara Kuzmich (grade 12) in the annual Mix For Your Life! competition. Each year the most talented and ambitious science focused students compete with one another to show their knowledge in Chemistry.<br/>
<br/>
Klara Kuzmich has been the first place winner for three consecutive years of this compeition before Meghan Jameson managed to win by just one point. In the past, the two have dominated the board and wrestled for the top spot and the prize of one thousand dollars for college. Until this year, Klara has managed to defend her first place spot.<br/>
<br/>
Competitors were excited at the new prize this year as well; a personal tour of Wayne Enterprises. Each competitor seemed to make sure they studied well but Klara and Meghan both crushed it. Unfortunately for Klara, her winning streak is over.<br/>
<br/>
We'd all like to give Meghan a huge congratulations, and we all hope you have a great time on your tour!</em><br/>
</p>
</blockquote><br/>Alfred hums in thought. This all certainly had something to do with Meg's death. Perhaps the man held a grudge?<p>He keeps the article and her death in mind as he searches for the second name. His brows furrow when he seemingly finds the right woman. She's a hairdresser in Maine that went missing about a month ago. Her husband was found with his brains all over their kitchen floor, his heart missing as well. Her two children had suddenly shown up on her estranged sister's doorstep the next morning.</p><p>Alfred manages to get the man's name, Thomas Camski, and finds out he interned at LexCorp for a few years. He had eventually resigned rather abruptly. The man switches out of the tabs and finally calls Dick to inform them of his find.</p><p>He's startled by sirens shrieking in the background as Dick's stressed face comes into view. "Hey, A, we've got a bit of a problem here. Arkham's on lockdown and got us separated with Robin and Superboy. Robin says they're heading for Croc's area," Dick reports.</p><p>Alfred sighs in exasperation. "Oh, dear. I have some information for you all as well," he says. Dick pulls his wrist away to shout something unintelligible at the others before coming back in view.</p><p>"Tell me what it is. Jason and Cass just came back from talking with a guard. Mr. Freeze is on the loose and they're trying to track him down," Dick says.</p><p>Alfred scans over the articles he has up again. He tells him, "I found a slip of papers with some names on it. It looks like there were more but it got a little damaged. I did manage to search up two of the names and they seem to have a connection to Carter in a way."</p><p>"Shit," Dick mutters, "Go on. Tell me about them and maybe we can piece something together."</p><p>"Well, sir, the first name was a Alicia Camski. I believe the connection may have more been through her husband, Thomas, or both of them. It's rather odd, I must say, as she's been missing for weeks but her husband was killed on the spot. Mrs. Camski had children as well and they were safely given to her sister."</p><p>Dick makes a thoughtful look through the screen. "That's...strange. Think she works with him?" he asks. Alfred hums consideringly and leans back in his chair.</p><p>"It's a possibility, sir. Shall I continue?" Alfred says while making another mental note to scour over their marriage and any problems they may have had.</p><p>"Yeah, Al, go head."</p><p>"Well, sir, there is a troubling connection here. Mr. Camski worked as an intern for LexCorp for a few years. He seemed to be doing well until he resigned out of the blue. He had no reported troubles there either. The troubling part, here, is that Mr. Luthor's name is on this paper as well," the man tells him.</p><p>Dick makes a bitterly amused noise. "No surprise there, honestly. There are a lot of people after Luthor's head. That is odd, though. You think Carter had something to do with him quitting?" Alfred makes a noise of agreement at the rhetorical question regardless.</p><p>"I do, sir. This other name is most troubling, too. Miss Meghan Jameson is here too," he tells Dick.</p><p>Dick's mouth falls open in surprise. "Meg Jameson? As in Motormouth Meg?! The-the one that wrote that weird article about Bruce when he-" he stops when Alfred shoots him a disapproving look. "Sorry, go on," Dick mumbles.</p><p>Alfred clears his throat. "Yes, <em>that</em> Meghan. Apparently she died in a house fire. The autopsy revealed that she died from smoke inhalation but her tongue had been cut from her mouth before the fire even started."</p><p>"She go to school with Carter?" Dick asks, one finger plugging his ear while the sirens still scream in the background.</p><p>Alfred blows out a short breath through his nose. "Indeed. She actually won a tour of your father's tower in a competition. Mr. Carter had been the winner for three years in a row until one year Ms. Jameson managed to get a point ahead and win. I've also noticed this article blatantly misgenders and misnames him. Did Master Damian not say him and his mother changed their names?"</p><p>Dick pauses and his eyebrows shoot up in surprise. "That's....really odd. Maybe his mother didn't approve, still?"</p><p>Alfred nods and watches Barbara come into frame to wave. "Hey, Alfred. We gotta borrow Nightwing, sorry. They're about two minutes from letting us get to Robin and Superboy. Can we call you back?" Barbara asks.</p><p>The man says, "I was just about finished. I'll let you know if I find anything else. I do advise, however, that you get to Mr. Luthor. Ms. Jameson's name was crossed off that list and I'm afraid Mr. Luthor, too, may be in danger soon."</p><p>Barbara nods grimly and waves at him. Then, she ducks off the screen with her eyes locked on something off to the side. Most likely Tim and Jason arguing. Dick and him exchange quick farewells and Alfred ends the call.</p><p>"Oh, well, I suppose I'll have time to work in the gardens before the next wash is finished."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Annnnnd hope you enjoyed! </p><p>I had to work out everyone's ages to try and work with the timeline i created. i'm still not exactly positive everything is completely lined up so forgive me if i come back later and edit some things.</p><p>carter's entire story will be pieced together VERY soon (im SO excited for that chapter you guys have NO idea) but if any of y'all want me to sum up what these boys know just lemme know</p><p>as always, please kudo and comment (i adore y'all comments they give me so much happiness) see y'all at the next update :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Another Way Out</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>New information and Jon gets himself into a bit of trouble</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>ohoho i have been WAITING to do this chapter for SO DAMN LONG. this one and the one after. Lex was actually supposed to be here MUCH earlier but things had to change around because i had to tweak the story a lil' bit. Waylon, however, has been a character I have wanted to write in here for so long and I'm so happy I finally got to. He's awesome</p><p>Please lemme know about any spelling errors or stuff like that. Please enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Damian pushes open a heavy door. The room they enter is large, Jon notices. To his left there's metal stairs leading up, up, up to a catwalk like area above them. Further ahead is a tank. While it seems like it's made of glass the material must be much stronger or else Waylon would have been roaming the sewers everyday.<br/>
<br/>
Northwest of them is a tall platform level with the top of the tank. Jon eyes the stairs curiously but Damian moves ahead again before he can think about investigating the place further. The room is darker than Jon's comfortable with but he brushes that discomfort aside in favor of standing before the large tank.<br/>
<br/>
A dark form, large and quick, darts by in front of them. Damian knocks on the tank wall firmly until piercing golden eyes snap to them and a scaly head appears. Jon swallows nervously and he reflexively takes a step back. Damian, however, only straightens under the weight of the man's-beast's-full gaze.<br/>
<br/>
"Little birdie....I see my distraction as brought you to my cage without your fowl friends," he growls. Jon's not actually sure how he can talk in the water but he can't find it in himself to ask for fear of his voice wavering.<br/>
<br/>
Damian's lips twitch at the pun but crosses his arms. He asks, "You sent Freeze out to cause a little mischief?"<br/>
<br/>
The reptilian-like man rumbles and nods once. "You were always my favorite. You and that helmeted menace, anyway. Such fun to play with," Waylon replies. Damian licks his lips in the first sign of nervousness Jon's seen today and nods once in acceptance.<br/>
<br/>
"You needn't have done so. Dent told us you'd have some answers to questions we have," Damian says. Waylon eyes them both with interest and Jon can't help but feel like a deer about to be snapped up in this man's jaws.<br/>
<br/>
"Go on," Waylon urges keenly.<br/>
<br/>
Damian nods. "We asked Dent about Doctor Crane-" Waylon's face twists into a furious snarl at the name and Jon can't help but jump. Damian snags his hand soothingly and continues, "and his...experiments. We need to know what you can tell us. Anything about his methods, his plans; anything."<br/>
<br/>
Waylon's form disappears for a moment. Jon's brows furrow in confusion but Damian waits it out until the man's face appears again with an angry expression.<br/>
<br/>
"That snake and his little bird, not at all amusing like you, always pulled me from my water to inject me with that-that abominable creation," Waylon says furiously, his tail whipping through the water in a show of agitation.<br/>
<br/>
Jon chews his lip before he speaks up. "Did you hear anything useful during those times? Can you tell us about where they might be, maybe a place where they set up shop often...?" Jon talks for the first time since entering the room.<br/>
<br/>
Walyon's eyes are unsettling when they focus on him. They dart around his body with amusement and Jon knows he probably looks pale and terrified but he can't help it. The stories he's heard from Damian and Tim about this man once kept him up when he was younger. His Pa had sat with him that night, had promised that he'd always protect him even from scary, man-eating criminals.<br/>
<br/>
(Damian had eventually stiffly apologized when Jon told him about it more recently. He never blamed either one of them but it was nice to hear)<br/>
<br/>
The man growls, a sound that vibrates loudly and has Jon's own heart slamming faster in his ribcage. "They don't stay together. The bird-Magpie-always stays at his own place. He would often ask Crane to go to his but the snake never allowed him to," Waylon starts.<br/>
<br/>
Damian nods slowly. "Definitely unrequited, then," he comments.<br/>
<br/>
Waylon snorts at the words. "Unrequited in an understatement, fledgling. Crane smelled of resentment when he was around Magpie. He was very careful about it, though. Like how he is with everything he did. Very calculating," Waylon grumbles.<br/>
<br/>
They both nod in understanding. "Do you know where Magpie's place might be? Anything you can recognize from what he brought along with him?" Damian questions.<br/>
<br/>
Waylon sighs, bubbles forming and rushing from his nose. Jon watches them rise to the surface for a moment then snaps back to hear the answer. "Magpie...often smelled of oil. Metal and rust, too. Whenever I got a whiff it always bugged me."<br/>
<br/>
"Any ideas on who might be targeted?" Damian asks next. Waylon tips his head to contemplate, mouth working soundlessly as he tries to think again. Jon squeezes Damian's hand to reassure himself and Damian interlocks their fingers. His thumb swipes over the back of Jon's hand and Jon lets out a shaky breath.<br/>
<br/>
Waylon's eyes widen only the slightest bit. "One time...they did not get the dosage right, hadn't yet perfected it. I was still lucid...Crane mentioned, obviously the Bat, but he also told Magpie to meet with the mayor. Here and that place where the little fast man lives. They mentioned other countries and cities but I do not remember the specifics," he tells them.<br/>
<br/>
Jon curses. "They're not just aiming for specific people here, are they?"<br/>
<br/>
Damian purses his lips for a moment before he says, "Crane wants the world, doesn't he? A whole world with people for him to study. To see what makes them tick..."<br/>
<br/>
"So he's, what, aiming for people in power?" Jon asks. Damian shrugs and looks a little frustrated at the lack of knowledge. "If he wanted people with power you'd think he'd go for national leaders. Why specific cities?" Jon murmurs more to himself. He begins to float as he finds himself lost in thought.<br/>
<br/>
"Too protected," Damian says. Jon squints at his friend from where he's completely upside down. At the look, Damian clarifies, "He's not going to be able to get to the President or a leader in another country. They're way too protected. So, they decided with the next best thing; they'd snatch up cities and territory by taking out their important figures. It gives them a higher body count, too," Damian explains.<br/>
<br/>
Jon grimaces at the worlds. Intimidate the masses and have them push for leaders to do something. Make the civilians fear them and watch them run around like mice at the sight of a predator. Crane, after all, was fascinated by fear.<br/>
<br/>
Damian sighs and says, "Thank you, Waylon. You've definitely helped us."<br/>
<br/>
Waylon nods once. "Good," he says with a hissing undertone that makes shivers crawl up Jon's spine, "because I want you to find Crane. I want his bones to crack beneath my hands, and his skull to crumble between my teeth," he spits, rage clear in his jerky motions as he swims off.<br/>
<br/>
"Jesus...." Jon mutters. Damian snorts and tugs on Jon's hand to urge him to the door. Jon can't help but stare back into the tank while Damian guides him back out the door. He meets golden eyes that watch them with clear amusement as they leave. Jon swallows and finds himself unable to look away until Damian wraps an arm around his middle and pushes him through the door.<br/>
<br/>
Even then he feels trapped beneath those eyes.<br/>
<br/>
As soon as the door closes Jon jolts. Damian gives him a odd expression as Jon lets go of his hand to rub at his arms with another shiver. "The hell was that?" Damian demands.<br/>
<br/>
Jon shrugs helplessly. "Something about him freaked me the fuck out, Dami. I can't even explain it. He was so goddamn unnerving," Jon replies. Damian frowns but they're distracted from the conversation when they both process that the alarms have shut off.<br/>
<br/>
"Shall we meet back up with the others?" Jon suggests. Damian looks over him for another moment and nods, striding forward with his nose in the air. Jon chuckles weakly, heart still pounding like a rabbit's, and follows after his partner.<br/>
<br/>
They move quickly through the halls. They intend to meet back up with the others where they had been separated in the first place but instead Damian and Tim collide as they round the corner.<br/>
<br/>
Damian falls back into Jon's arms while Tim wobbles backward until Jason snags him with a snicker. Tim snarls and swats at the taller man but Jason holds him against his side until the man merely grumbles heatedly. Jon lets Damian right himself.<br/>
<br/>
"Alfred called and-"<br/>
<br/>
"Waylon told us-"<br/>
<br/>
Both Dick and Damian attempt to talk but they both fall silent when they hear the other start. Damian raises an eyebrow but Dick gestures for him to start.<br/>
<br/>
Damian says, "Waylon's told us that he heard them talking about Gotham and Central City's mayors. There were apparently mentions of other countries, too, but he couldn't remember which," Damian says.<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, and he did mention he smelled a lot of oil and, like, metal or rust on Carter so it might be worth checking out to find out where he's staying," Jon jumps in.<br/>
<br/>
Dick's expression drops. "Fuck..." he mutters. Barbara pats his arm reassuringly but Tim's eyes narrow underneath his hood.<br/>
<br/>
"We've still got an advantage. We've got their sample they want so badly. We may not know why they want it so badly but we do know they aren't making big moves without it," he points out. Jon feels a little more relieved.<br/>
<br/>
He suddenly snorts in amusement. "Glad we took his car, then. Can't believe out of all the cars we picked his," he says.<br/>
<br/>
Damian shoots him a glare. "I didn't choose a car, idiot. I watched you drool over half of them before deciding to get your sticky fingers over that one," he cuts in. Jon pouts but can't really dispute that.<br/>
<br/>
Dick waves his hands quickly. "Forget that for a moment; Alfred called. He found a slip of paper in the pocket of the jacket you were wearing, Robin. Had some names on it and when he searched them up..."<br/>
<br/>
Dick rushes through the explanation. Damian's face sours at the new information while Jon rubs a hand over his face. Things were just getting odder and odder, weren't they?<br/>
<br/>
Jason finally lets Tim squirm away and instead steps forward. "I think we're gonna have to split up from here as much as it pains me to say it. I don't wanna let dorks one and two out of my sight so soon," he murmurs. Damian rolls his eyes with a grimace but Jon notices the way he stands a little straighter.<br/>
<br/>
Barbara nods along and plants her hand on her hip. "How about this; Robin, Superboy and I head over to check in on Lex. Black Bat and Red Hood can see if they can pin down somewhere Carter or Crane may be. Nightwing, Red Robin; head back to the cave to check in on the sample analysis. It might not be complete yet but there might be some things the computer already processed and recognized," she directs.<br/>
<br/>
Dick looks around. "Is there anything we're missing before we head off?" he checks. Jon tries to think of anything but it's Damian that makes a choked noise. He turns to Jon with a sheepish expression and Jon feels his heart sinking.<br/>
<br/>
"Remember how we promised the money to the Joker and his...crew?" Jon's own eyes widen and he scratches at his nose awkwardly.<br/>
<br/>
"Ah...right. So," he turns to Barbara and Dick with a beaming smile,"this is awkward. We kinda promised the Joker we were gonna deliver the money to them. I think that's one of the main reasons they dropped us off so easily," Jon says.<br/>
<br/>
Barbara pinches at the bridge of her nose with a long sigh and Jason suddenly looks angry at the mention of the clown's name. Jon feels a little guilty for having such a fun ride home when Jason had nothing but bad memories of the clown.<br/>
<br/>
Dick cuts in before Jon can think much harder on it. "Alright," he says, "new plan; Robin, Superboy, and Red Hood will talk with Lex. Sorry, Batgirl, but I need you with Red Robin to check in with the analysis. You're better with that type of thing than I am. I'll check around for where Carter might be camping out. Black Bat; I'm gonna need you to make that money delivery. Can I trust you with that?" Dick rambles.<br/>
<br/>
Cass nods once with a serene little smile. "I got it."<br/>
<br/>
Everyone slumps a little in relief. Cass can easily handle herself. She's very experienced and can slither and squirm her way out of plenty of situations if she ever needs to. Jon knows Damian, although he doesn't say it often, admires her a lot for that.<br/>
<br/>
Damian now, however, is pouting slightly. "Why do we have to bring <em>Red Hood</em> along? Superdork and I can do just fine."<br/>
<br/>
Tim rolls his eyes as the group begins to head down the hallways. "Be<em>cause</em>, Robin, Lex has kryptonite. Which is bad for your boyfriend and that's bad for everyone, really," the man points out.<br/>
<br/>
The darker skinned boy shoots Tim a glare but soon turns it to the ground. He's quiet for a few moments while they exit Arkham. Jon's relieved to be in the cool air again and not in that stuffy building.<br/>
<br/>
Jon's ready to climb onto Damian's bike when the boy stops him. He grasps his wrist in his own with a frown and doesn't seem to want to meet his eyes. Instead, he looks down between their bodies to the pavement.<br/>
<br/>
"What is it?" Jon asks, feeling slightly concerned. Damian doesn't say anything for a few seconds. Then, he looks up with a scowl.<br/>
<br/>
"You know I'd never let something like that happen, right?"<br/>
<br/>
Jon's eyebrows shoot up in surprise at the words but he laughs and throws an arm around Damian's shoulders with a grin.<br/>
<br/>
He says, "Of course I know that, Dami. We're partners, aren't we? You'd never let anything happen to me, and I'd never let anything happen to you," Jon chirps. Damian nods slowly and they walk across the parking lot. Jason is clipping Cass' helmet on her head while she looks up at him with a little smile.<br/>
<br/>
Jon hugs Damian closer to his side and says softly, "Come on; let's go make sure Mr. Lex Luthor doesn't drop dead."<br/>
<br/>
They reach Damian's slim motorcycle and Damian clips his helmet on with a sigh. Jon lets the other boy straddle the bike, then Jon slips on behind him. He winds his arms around Damian's middle and laughs into the boy's back when Damian makes a small, surprised noise at the touch.<br/>
<br/>
Engines growl to life around the same time. Damian pulls out of the space easily and guides the bike away from the parking lot. Jason drives ahead of them, Tim on the back of his bike.<br/>
<br/>
They stop at the cave briefly to eat and drop off Tim and Barbara. Cass stops by to talk with Alfred about gathering up the money and get her own car of them off but Damian and Jon were both itching to get back on the road.<br/>
<br/>
Jon is in the middle of attempting to neaten Damian's wild helmet hair when Jason finally shouts for them to get going. They're speeding down the streets of Gotham in no time, Jon pressing his face against Damian's back.<br/>
<br/>
With a much faster vechicle and the ability to cut through most traffic, the three manage to get to Metropolis relatively quickly. They park behind the building and Jon stumbles off the bike with a greatful moan.<br/>
<br/>
He rubs at his thighs furiously. He's still not used to long rides on the bike and he'll never figure out how the hell they all manage to do it. He much prefers anything else to being on one of those bikes for that long again.<br/>
<br/>
"I guess we'll go through the regular way," Damian murmurs. Jon snorts and holds out his hands.<br/>
<br/>
"Fuck no. We're going straight through his window," Jon says. Jason grins and wraps an arm around Jon's shoulders.<br/>
<br/>
He says, "I like the way you think, kid. Grab your boyfriend, Dami, and let's go!" Jon watches Damian's cheeks turn bright red and he glares at Jason even as he lets Jon snag him around the waist.<br/>
<br/>
"He's not my boyfriend..." Damian mutters. Jon sends him a playful pout and Damian looks away while he turns even redder. Jason can't seem to help his cackles as they lift off into the air.<br/>
<br/>
It's Jason that points out which window is Luthor's office window. How exactly he knows that is none of Jon's business and he's slightly nervous to know the answer. The thought of Jason and Luthor putting their heads together is horrifying.<br/>
<br/>
Jason stretches forward to knock on the window when they spot the bald man with a mousy, black haired man.  Both turn their gazes to the window and Jon can see Lex's eyes narrow. The dark haired man's own eyes widen and he pales dramatically. Jason snickers behind his helmet.<br/>
<br/>
It's Mercy that opens the windows when Lex jerks his head toward it. Jon gives her a polite smile that doesn't move her in the slightest.<br/>
<br/>
God, Jon fears her.<br/>
<br/>
Damian slithers through the window first, boots strategically avoiding anything seemingly important or overly clean. Jason has no such care and uses the ledge of the window to launch himself in. Jon grimaces at the loud, resulting thud and ducks into the spacious office.<br/>
<br/>
"Mr...Mr. Luthor did you invite these...<em>hooligans</em> into our meeting?!" the man questions. Despite his quivering voice and paling skin, the man has an offended expression on his face. Luthor's own face wears a pinched expression.<br/>
<br/>
He tells the man, "I assure you, Mr. Baker, I did no such thing. Would you mind waiting out in the waiting room while I take care of these...gentlemen?" Luthor requests.<br/>
<br/>
Baker's cheeks redden and he sputters out, "I will do no such thing! First of all, I was here first and second of all-"<br/>
<br/>
Jason lets out an aggravated noise. "Jesus <em>Christ</em>, dude, you look like you're about to piss yourself. We'll only be here for a few minutes so chill the fuck out, yeah?" Jason groans. Luthor's expression turns exasperated but slightly relieved when Mr. Baker gets up from his chair and storms away with furious mutters.<br/>
<br/>
Once the door slams shut Luthor turns to them. "To what do I owe the....pleasure of this visit?" he asks coolly. Mercy stares them down with equally cold eyes but Jason takes the lead rather easily.<br/>
<br/>
"Do you know an Andrew Carter?" Luthor's expression turns sour at the name and he rubs at his temples with his middle finger and his thumb. Jon assumes that yeah, he knows the guy.<br/>
<br/>
Lex flicks a hand toward the door and Mercy strides over to lock it. Then, she walks back over to stand at Lex's side with an odd expression on her face.<br/>
<br/>
Lex says, "Yes...I know that name rather well, unfortunately. Why do you need to know?"<br/>
<br/>
"He's teamed up with Doctor Crane. Part of a list of names was found and yours was one of them. Somebody else on that list is dead and another is missing. Chances are he's going to gun it for you at some point," Jon explains.<br/>
<br/>
Surprisingly, it's Mercy that speaks. "That adds up. We had a break-in just last night. Guards were hysterical and had to be sent to the hospital. Two in a coma-like state and one is on the way to recovery. No memory of what happened except for one. He babbled about it being 'nightmare fuel', sir," she reports. Lex nods slowly and strokes over his chin.<br/>
<br/>
"What was stolen?" he asks. Mercy shrugs helplessly, looking a little pissed she doesn't know the answer.<br/>
<br/>
"We don't know yet. Emily is still counting but she said she'll have the report in tomorrow morning the latest," the blonde woman murmurs. Lex nods in satisfaction and turns to the heroes once again.<br/>
<br/>
Damian is the one to speak up this time. He asks, "How exactly do you know him?" Luthor sighs and leans back in his chair.<br/>
<br/>
"He worked for me fresh from high school. Part-time while he worked on his degree. Someone reported to us that he and his team were working on some rather dangerous ideas in the labs and we had to shut down the entire program. He was, unfortunately, laid off. Bright kid, he was."<br/>
<br/>
Jason makes a noise of recognition. "Do you remember that person's name. Maybe we can send someone to check out what exactly these ideas were."<br/>
<br/>
Mercy's lips purse and Luthor shrugs helplessly. "I don't remember. I believe he quit not too long after," he says.<br/>
<br/>
"Thomas Camski." Mercy adds. Luthor looks to her and she nods. He turns back to them and looks a little startled at their expressions.<br/>
<br/>
Jason is already on his communicator to report to them while Jon grimaces. Damian looks a little tensed. At Lex's questioning look, Jon says, "Camski was found dead and his wife is missing. I'm guessing that was all the reason why. Probably blames you for shutting down the program and taking away his research, too."<br/>
<br/>
Jon's leg vibrates while he speaks. His brows furrow and he reaches back behind him to slide his phone from the secure leg pocket.<br/>
<br/>
(Ingenius, really, and Jon promises to thank Bruce when he gets back from space because he's never had pockets on his suit before!)<br/>
<br/>
He reads over the text while his eyebrows shoot up in surprise and delight. "Nightwing thinks he's found one of Carter's old hideouts. He wants someone to come back him up. Said it's a pretty big building," he says. Jason makes a noise of approval through his helmet.<br/>
<br/>
"Fucker works fast, doesn't he?" Jason says. Damian hums and peeks at the message from Jon's side.<br/>
<br/>
"424 Elliot...that's near that old junkyard. No wonder Waylon smelled oil and rust; that place isn't even monitored much anymore."<br/>
<br/>
Jon nods slowly and puts his phone back to sleep. He slides it into his leg pocket and turns. "Alright; I'll head over there and you two can keep an eye on him. Might know something more that can help us, I guess,"<br/>
<br/>
Jason mock salutes him and Jon snorts. He raises an eyebrow when Damian snatches his wrist and tugs him over back where they climbed through the window. "Do you really think you should go there? I mean, Nightwing can bring in someone else, right?" Damian whispers. Jon looks at him incredulously.<br/>
<br/>
"Dami; it's fine. I'll just fly over there and check it out with him and fly back. I'll be back before you even realize I'm gone, yeah?" Jon says.<br/>
<br/>
Damian watches him for another moment and nods, stepping back. "Yeah, just...got a bad feeling. Whatever; go assist my incompetent brother, Superdork," he says. Jon laughs and ruffles his hair much to Damian's annoyance.<br/>
<br/>
"Aye, aye, Robin," he chirps and clilmbs back out the window to soar through the air.<br/>
<br/>
It doesn't take him very long to return to Gotham. Much quicker than those demonic bikes and the busy traffic of both Gotham and Metropolis. He checks the address in his phone twice before he finally lands outside a warehouse.<br/>
<br/>
Jon glances around. The junkyard next door is filled to the brim with broken and rusting cards, abandoned appliances, and whatever the hell else people dumped here. Jon really, really wouldn't be surprised if he found a body somewhere in there.<br/>
<br/>
He turns away from the sight to stride forward closer to the warehouse entrance. Dick's bike is parked outside so he pushes open the door, ready to call out to the man. Instead, he promptly trips over something moving. Jon curses and regains his footing quickly. He turns and chokes on his gasp.<br/>
<br/>
Dick lays on the floor convulsing with small whimpers. His limbs flounder about and his face is twisted in one of terror. Jon curses, voice rising higher in pitch with fear. Dick makes a wounded noise immediately after and Jon scrambles to get his phone out.<br/>
<br/>
He punches in Cass' number and hopes to God she can answer. Damian was right, Jon thinks. He should've listened because Damian's bad feelings were right nine times out of ten. That boy had the uncanny ability to predict when things were going to go wrong.<br/>
<br/>
Cass picks up with a questioning hum. "Black Bat," Jon blubbers, "get over to 424 East Elliot. Nightwing's down, dosed with fear toxin, I think," he rushes. Cass curses softly herself.<br/>
<br/>
"Be right there. How long?" she manages out. It sounds like she's running now and Jon hopes she hurries. He's too nervous to move the man like this, afraid he might drop or hurt him further if he flies him back to the cave.<br/>
<br/>
Jon examines Dick despite wanting to burst into tears himself at the sight of the tear tracks on the man's face. Fear toxin was an awful thing to witness and even worse to go through. "I wasn't here the entire time. It only took me about ten minutes to get here, so I'd wager he's been under for eight at most," Jon says.<br/>
<br/>
Cass makes another noise of acknowlegment. "Good. Make sure he's away from...objects. Other things. Any injury?" she asks.<br/>
<br/>
Jon tries to get a good look. "It seems like he's mostly okay. Might have hit his head on the way down, but I think-" Jon finds himself cut off when he, himself, slams on the ground. The phone clatters to the ground while his arms are pressed against his body and legs pressed together.<br/>
<br/>
His skin is suddenly burning. Jon screams and writhes on the cool floor of the warehouse. Wire bites at any bare skin it can manage, tearing through his new suit. Jon pushes, and pulls at the contraption.<br/>
<br/>
He squirms restlessly, body throbbing in pain and trembling violently. Jon tries to catch his breath through his frantic sobs, tries to pull in deep breaths to calm himself but he finds himself flinching when clacking footsteps echo around the space.<br/>
<br/>
The teenager looks up through teary eyes at a lithe man with a golden, bird-like mask. Jon takes in the spiked leather jacket, the gleaming eyes, and the famliarly styled hair. There's no denying it. Jon feels dread building as he lays on the floor of the warehouse.<br/>
<br/>
Andrew fucking Carter had got him.<br/>
<br/>
"Hello there, little Kent. How nice of you to drop in."</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>ohhhh that has always meant to happen to poor jon and next chapter isn't any less mean to him for most of it ngl (sorry jon, love u hon). my take on kryptonite is that that shit BURNS and snatches their powers so,,,poor jon lmfao </p><p>this chapter was supposed to go up earlier in the day but i just got telltale batman and played through two episodes in one afternoon and let me tell you yall better fuckin' expect a fic of that later because this game??? immaculate yall absolutely immaculate</p><p>please kudo and comment-id love feedback :)</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Boy in the Bubble</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Jon befriends his kidnapper and finally gets to be happy &amp; Not Stressed for a bit</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Sorry this update is late. School is still kicking my ass and I decided I wanted to get this out tonight because I have two essays to write and a test to finish tomorrow, so I won't have any time to write</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jon's body hurts. It aches in ways it's never ached before and he just wants it to stop. His skin burns hotly underneath the kryptonite infused net but he forces himself to concentrate on the man smiling before him.<br/>
<br/>
He was so out of it he'd barely noticed that they weren't in the warehouse anymore. It seemed more like a basement, now. Dark, damp, and cold. So very, very cold.<br/>
<br/>
Jon snaps back to the present when a hand slaps at his cheek. "Well, now, little Kent. We both know what I'm here for so let's get on with it. Where the <em>hell</em> is my serum?" Carter hisses. Jon's breath rasps as he tries to focus on the man's now exposed face.<br/>
<br/>
He's rather pale looking underneath the dim lights. There are shadows underneath his manic filled eyes and his lips are set in a scowl. His mask has been cast to the side for the moment, on the floor next to Jon's immobile body.<br/>
<br/>
Jon says, "Go to hell."<br/>
<br/>
Carter's lips twist up into a smirk and he reaches behind him. Jon watches him unhook a green tinted knife from his belt and drag it over his palm slowly. "This blade is made of pure, raw kryptonite. It's been tested against your dad, you know? Worked pretty well, apparently. So, I'll ask again; where's the serum, kid?" Carter drawls.<br/>
<br/>
Jon grins up at the man. "We know all your little secrets, Carter. Getting your little serum and going along with Crane's absurd plans won't change a goddamn thing in your life, y'know?" he says weakly.<br/>
<br/>
The man crouched above him reaches over quicker than Jon was expecting just to plunge the knife straight into his abdomen. Jon shrieks, long and loud, at the pain. It feels like a punch to the stomach but worse. Carter watches him impassively and <em>twists</em> until Jon's voice gives out and he's sobbing again.<br/>
<br/>
The knife is tugged free with a wet sound and Jon struggles to catch his breath. Dent had said something. Told them if they managed to get Carter with them then Crane would feel cornered. They could corner him and bring him down.<br/>
<br/>
Jon opens his eyes, barely having noticed he'd squeezed them shut, and gasps frantically. "We know...why you-you killed those people, Carter. Cam-Camski and...Jameson. How you <em>wished</em> you could-could manage to kill Luthor..." Jon whispers.<br/>
<br/>
Carter's eyes narrow. "You're lying," he murmurs, bloodied knife dancing at Jon's neck. The boy's throat works frantically as he swallows.<br/>
<br/>
"Fuck no, I'm not. Jameson knew you before...went to school together. Something happened between the two of you, not just...not <em>just</em> that competition. She got furious. Was gonna spill everything about you," Jon says softly in the silence.<br/>
<br/>
Carter nicks Jon's neck as he pulls the knife away. Jon hisses at the resulting burning sensation but watches the man stand with a hard expression. "You keep your mouth shut unless you're gonna tell me where the hell that serum is. That was <em>years</em> of research and you snatched it right from underneath my nose," the man says.<br/>
<br/>
Jon struggles to follow the man's movements. He watches Carter begin to pace around the room, shoulders tense and drawn up. "You needed her dead because it wouldn't-wouldn't do you any favours if she'd gotten your past out, would it? You'd have the police or the FBI gunning for you."<br/>
<br/>
Carter whips around. He points the knife toward Jon with wild eyes. There's something in this man that's cracking fast. Jon always had the impression he'd been colder. More calculating and emotionless. Instead, Carter seems like a complete wreck. He's not sure if it's the stress of losing his serum or if he's always like this.<br/>
<br/>
"Shut up."<br/>
<br/>
Jon sneers and swallows back the spike of fear as the man prowls closer to him. "Camski fucked you over, didn't he? Got your program under Lex shut down. So you waited awhile and you shot him straight through the head. Felt sorry for his kids, though, didn't you?" Jon says.<br/>
<br/>
Carter's boot connects with his side and Jon screams again. He lays still for a moment, vision blurring as he tries to press past the burning, and the aching, and <em>everything</em>. He exhales shakily and musters up a sharp toothed grin.<br/>
<br/>
"Jameson did some extensive work in your past, didn't she? She already knew you were trans, but did she find out about that poor college girl you sliced the tongue from? Or that you gutted your father when you were just a kid?"<br/>
<br/>
Carter's entire expression falls. "No...no, no, <em>no</em>! You can't know!" the man explodes, dropping his knife in favor of gripping at his hair. Jon blinks up at him slowly and smirks.<br/>
<br/>
"Sorry to say that I do, Carter. And so do the rest of my team. You-you could kill me but they've still got the serum and the information," Jon says shakily. Carter lets out a frustrated snarl and begins to pace again frantically.<br/>
<br/>
The man looks to him with an uncomfortably crazed look. "This isn't how this was supposed to go!" he says, voice shaky. Jon can't find it in himself to respond, can't muster up the energy for what feels like forever.<br/>
<br/>
Carter is studying him intently when Jon turns his gaze back to him. Jon says, "You know...Crane's not going to stick with you. Once he gets what he wants."<br/>
<br/>
Carter lets the knife dance over his fingers. The blade nicks his hands but he doesn't seem to notice as he stares at the wound on Jon's stomach. It bleeds through Jon's suit sluggishly and the man looks vaguely fascinated until he meets Jon's eyes.<br/>
<br/>
His mouth opens and closes a few times. Finally, the man seems to find the right words. "I know...<em>I know</em>. But I just...can't seem to stop loving him. He gave me everything." Carter whispers.<br/>
<br/>
Jon shakes his head and immediately regrets the action when nausea rises. He swallows down bile, grimacing at the taste it leaves.<br/>
<br/>
"You can't just let yourself sit with him when you know he'll toss you aside like yesterday's trash when he gets everything he wants from you." Jon says incredulously.<br/>
<br/>
Carter laughs and the blade of his knife fumbles, slicing at his palm. The man hisses and shakes out his hand. "I haven't been loved once in my life, little Kent. He will be just another person to push me aside in the end, then." Carter murmurs. "Did you know there was a woman before me? Beautiful, intelligent, and calculating. Even had the same eyes and hair colors. You know what he did to her in the end?" Carter's eyes are beginning to wet with tears.<br/>
<br/>
Jon shakes his head mutely and a sobbing laugh escapes between Carter's lips and he says, "He pumped her full of fear toxin because she always boasted her fearlessness. She was kept under for a full week until her body gave up. Her body was dumped in the streets. Do you know how humiliating it was to learn that? I loved that bastard for years only to learn my fate was to be dead in a ditch."<br/>
<br/>
Jon looks upon the man and can only muster up pity. "Then why-why no-not run?" Jon whispers. Carter inhales shakily and leans forward, knife poised over Jon's body.<br/>
<br/>
"I wanted a family. He filled the void so well that I was content to ignore my oncoming death. I am meant to die, little Kent."<br/>
<br/>
Jon flinches when the knife nears him but Carter merely slices through the net. The teenager watches the bindings fall away and he lets out a noise of relief when the man tosses the contraption away.<br/>
<br/>
"You were doing some-something <em>good</em> for Arkham before you quit, you know. I saw the files. You were trying before Crane got to you. Wormed his way into your head," Jon says once he can breathe again. Carter wipes at his face with his sleeve despite the tears still coming.<br/>
<br/>
He tells Jon, "I wanted people like me...people who'd killed...I wanted them to have somewhere they'd be understood. Who better to help them than a killer; someone sewn with the same stitch as them on the cloth that is destiny."<br/>
<br/>
Jon struggles to sit up, arms curling around his abdomen. He's only feeling slightly better since that damned kyptonite is away from him but his wound is refusing to close up. He hopes it won't have to heal the old fashion way of time and care because that'd be a pain in the ass.<br/>
<br/>
He pushes those thoughts aside and meets Carter's eyes again. "You know...they hate you. A lot. You're on the wrong side, Carter, and it's gonna get you killed. You're on the side that nobody likes right now," Jon whispers. Carter sighs and his shoulders slump.<br/>
<br/>
"I know..." he murmurs.<br/>
<br/>
"You should do something about it. Help us put Crane behind bars. Please."<br/>
<br/>
Carter nods once and lets his gaze fall to the floor. "I hurt them. The people I wanted to help..." he says and finds himself breaking down again. Jon manages to pull himself closer to wrap an arm around Carter's shoulders hesitantly. Carter lets him.<br/>
<br/>
Jon says quietly, "They've all hurt each other. Joker has sacrificed Harley a billion times and look at them now; still working together. Cobblepot and Nygma have butted heads more times than I can count. Hell, even Cheetah and Grodd after their whole team-up gave each other up. They still regularly plot together, though."<br/>
<br/>
The criminal scoffs. "They're not going to forgive me for standing by like that. For participating and <em>liking</em> it." Jon snorts at the words.<br/>
<br/>
"They're angrier at Crane. Make it right, Carter. Help us catch him and I promise that they'll be on your side."<br/>
<br/>
Carter pulls away from Jon and presses his hand over his eyes as his shoulders shake. Jon watches the man with a little frown on his lips until the man nods once.<br/>
<br/>
"I'll-I'll do it...I want that son of a bitch to suffer behind those bars."<br/>
<br/>
Jon sighs in relief. "Good," he murmurs. Carter watches Jon with dark eyes and the man jerks his head toward Jon's wound. It seems to be closing up very slowly, so the man moves to crouch before Jon carefully.<br/>
<br/>
"May I?" he murmurs, one eyebrow raised. Jon nods, relieved to be moved from the cold floor. The man slides his arms underneath Jon's knees and back to lift the boy. Jon hisses at the jolt and the burn marks being chafed by the fabric of Carter's jacket.<br/>
<br/>
They move from the room to the door in the far corner. "Your friend, Dic-er-Nightwing, I suppose I should call him. He is safe, if you were wondering. Black Bat picked him up and that was merely standard fear toxin," Carter tells him. Jon smiles at the news but that's suddenly wiped from his face when he looks to the man in confusion.<br/>
<br/>
Jon asks, "How exactly did you figure us out?"<br/>
<br/>
Carter kicks at the door twice and it swings open. "Thank you, Emilio," Carter murmurs to a red haired man. 'Emilio' dips his head as a sign of respect and Carter moves on. "It really wasn't that hard. Collected a few things over the years that clued me in but ultimately this whole situation cemented my ideas."<br/>
<br/>
Jon can barely concentrate but he listens to the answer eagerly as they walk through the low lit hallway. A dark haired guard stands in front of an unmarked door and they open the door with a bob of their head.<br/>
<br/>
It's a simple but comfortable looking room. The bed is covered in red sheets and a comforter while the carpet is black and the walls are painted a deep red. There's a connecting door that Jon assumes is the bathroom as he's laid down on the bed. Jon watches Carter open a drawer of the nightstand next to the bed and pull out a first aid box.<br/>
<br/>
"You get injured often enough to have that?" Jon asks, voice rasping. Carter shrugs lazily and pops it open to dig through it.<br/>
<br/>
"Being a crime lord is rather dangerous work. Besides, better to be safe than sorry," Carter responds. Jon snorts.<br/>
<br/>
"Fair enough."<br/>
<br/>
The man makes short work of washing out the wound and Jon has to refrain from squirming or jolting when the wound begins to sting angrily when the man disinfects it. Carter then slathers an ointment over it and dresses it neatly.<br/>
<br/>
The man picks through them carefully and says, "I made sure to avoid nicking anything important. The kryptonite, however, might still be lingering in your body. That should be flushed out naturally, and we'll keep an eye on it. I'm sorry to say your body won't be able to heal up this wound until sometime tomorrow. Which means staying put," Carter explains.<br/>
<br/>
Jon groans and leans back against the pillows. "This fucking sucks, man. I'm gonna be stuck in bed for a whole day?!" he whines. Carter raises an eyebrow and Jon falls silent, lower lip jutting out petulantly. He <em>hated</em> being stuck in bed. It was always boring and his brain constantly wanted him to be doing something.<br/>
<br/>
"Yes, but you'll get out of here and after that bastard Crane a lot sooner if you stay put and let yourself heal up," Carter reasons as he swipes ointment over the burn marks around where the kryptonite net had dug into Jon's skin and marred it.<br/>
<br/>
Jon grumbles but agrees. He can't really find it in himself to be too mad the man had, you know, kidnapped and tortured him a little. He supposed he'd think of it as a...bonding experience. Maybe it ran in the family, but he knew the Wayne family tend to follow the same logic. They survived thus far so why not run with it? Besides, they need Carter on their team. The man probably has tons of valuable information.<br/>
<br/>
Eventually, Carter packs up the kit and stores it back in the nightstand a few supplies lighter. Jon begins to settle back underneath the covers but Carter shakes his head. "I'll have someone deliver a fresh set of clothes for you. This uniform is...ruined."<br/>
<br/>
Jon nods in agreement and thanks the man quietly as he leaves. It's only ten minutes later that Emilio drops off a T-shirt and a pair of sweatpants that Jon grabs eagerly. He locks the door and struggles to change into the fresh clothes, wounds twinging painfully throughout the whole process. Then, after a quick trip to what is indeed the bathroom, Jon slowly climbs under the comforter and turns out the lights.<br/>
<br/>
It's not that long before the exhaustion of the past few days hits him and Jon's asleep within minutes.<br/>
<br/>
When he wakes the next morning, Jon feels more rested. His wounds ache fiercely, however, and he struggles to sit up against the pain. He lifts his shirt to look at the bandage and finds he's bled on it a lot less than he was expecting.<br/>
<br/>
That seems like a good sign, Jon thinks.<br/>
<br/>
The door swings open close to twenty minutes of Jon searching for his phone and making another trip to the bathroom. Unfortunately, it seems like his phone was left behind in the chaos.<br/>
<br/>
Carter is carrying a tray of food, eyes watching him with a rather blank expression. The man sets the tray down in Jon's lap and Jon immediately attacks the fruit. Everything is cold, fresh, and tastes especially good since he hasn't had a bite to eat since before questioning the residents of Arkham.<br/>
<br/>
"Thanks," Jon manages to warble around his mouthful of food. Carter gives him an unimpressed look and Jon shrugs with a grin.<br/>
<br/>
"You're...welcome," Carter responds with a grimace as Jon swallows down a chunk of melon. The man reaches for the nightstand and pulls out the kit. The box pops open and Jon lets him move the tray further down the bed for room to sit down.<br/>
<br/>
Jon lifts his shirt and lays back against the pillows. He hisses when Carter begins to unwrap it. The wound twinges and Jon reaches out with a pained wince. "It's-it's stuck," Jon says in pain.<br/>
<br/>
Carter curses under his breath. "I wasn't expecting your body to start healing it this quickly. Give me a minute."<br/>
<br/>
Jon watches the man stand and enter the bathroom. He hears the sink running and what sounds like bottles being moved but he looks down at the bandage nervously. He hopes Carter won't have to rip it off. That'd hurt like a bitch and the wound itself already throbbed angrily just from a light tug.<br/>
<br/>
The man returns with gloves on his hands and a little basket full of things Jon can't quite see. "We're going to have to soak the bandage, pull it off, and clean out that wound to make sure it's not getting infected. That'd be terrible since it's healing up so quickly," Carter explains.<br/>
<br/>
Jon swallows and nods quickly. He watches Carter take a seat on the bed again and he soon feels water dripping rapidly over the gauze. It stings a little but mainly feels odd as it washes over his skin uncomfortably.<br/>
<br/>
After a few minutes, Carter begins to slowly lift off the gauze stuck to the teenager's wound, gloved hand pressing around the wound as gently as he can manage to keep Jon still. Jon's teeth clench but he knows it hurts less than it would if they had tried to pull it straight off. Doesn't mean it doesn't hurt at all.<br/>
<br/>
It feels like an eternity until Carter can safely pull the rest of the gauze off more carelessly, tossing the soiled bandage to the side to expose the wound to the air. Jon looks down and frowns at the sight.<br/>
<br/>
It's less bloody and red than it was before. Some of the skin has already healed and only leaves behind puckered skin while the middle is still rather raw. Carter looks a little upset as he stares at it but the man seems to shake himself from whatever thoughts he had and reaches into the basket. He pops the cap of a bottle of saline solution and Jon watches the man pour it over the wound generously. Jon is glad when there isn't any added pain. It's just the usual throbbing he's been feeling for awhile.<br/>
<br/>
Carter nods in satisfaction and digs out another tube of ointment and a swab. "Keep still. I'm going to use this on here, and then I'll look at your burns,"<br/>
<br/>
Jon nods and stares up at the ceiling while the man spreads a thin layer around and over the wound. Then, he lets him wrap the wound in gauze once again. Carter takes the time to slather burn ointment over the various marks on his skin but they seem to be healing rather nicely. Even the ones on Jon's face.<br/>
<br/>
"There. I'll be back this afternoon to redo these and, hopefully, this stab wound will be better," Carter says as he takes off his gloves to toss them away in the wastebasket next to the bed. The man packs up the kit and pushes it back away. Then, he's quiet.<br/>
<br/>
Jon furrows his brows as he waits for him to speak. Finally, Carter meets his eyes with a strangely apologetic smile. Carter murmurs, "For what it's worth, Kent, I'm...sorry. I don't know what I was thinking. I don't...I don't know why I let myself come up with such a goddamn stupid plan. I mean I <em>knew</em> you were a kid and I still-" Carter cuts himself off and clears his throat.<br/>
<br/>
The teenager leans forward carefully and smiles weakly at Carter. "I'm...angry, I won't lie. I'm stuck in this damn bed because of you, in pain because of you and your stupid serum. But," Jon curls one arm around his stomach protectively while the other props himself up, "I understand that desperation for someone to love you back. Willing to do <em>anything</em> for just...one smile from them. Anything to make them happy."<br/>
<br/>
Carter laughs and pats Jon's hand reassuringly. "Oh, you have nothing to worry about, little Kent. Your boy, Damian, loves you. I have a feeling things will be advancing very soon for you two," Carter says.<br/>
<br/>
"Jon."<br/>
<br/>
Carter blinks in confusion. "Excuse me?"<br/>
<br/>
Jon shrugs shallowly. "Call me Jon," he says under the man's scrutiny. Carter blows out a gust of air from his nose in amusement.<br/>
<br/>
"Call me Andrew, then." Jon smiles at the words and watches the man finally stand and pass the tray back up to his lap. "Remote for the TV is in the nightstand, by the way." Andrew says.<br/>
<br/>
Jon nods and reaches over for it. He turns on an old sitcom and finishes up the breakfast slowly. The break from running around is nice but the whole 'being wounded' part really isn't.<br/>
<br/>
For most of the day, Jon is stuck with sitcoms that include obnoxious laugh tracks, soap operas, and his own thoughts. His wound hurts less as the hours drag by and by the time the evening rolls around and Andrew returns, Emilio in tow, Jon can stretch out without anything burning or hurting much beyond being achy. His eyes catch on a bag hanging off of Emilio's arm.<br/>
<br/>
This time, Emilio is the one to pull off the bandages that, thankfully, don't stick to anything. Jon examines his stomach with an eager eye.<br/>
<br/>
There's a long, jagged line from the top of his belly button to just where his ribs end. It's still rather pink but it looks less like it happened less than a day ago and more like it's a few weeks old. When Jon looks over his arms and legs, his eyebrows shoot up.<br/>
<br/>
His skin is mottled with wire thin burn marks. They're healed over and Jon's not surprised they're going to leave scars. His Pa had plenty of scars from where he'd had kryptonite touch his skin. Jon's rather surprised they don't look worse with how long he'd been in that net for.<br/>
<br/>
Andrew has his coat thrown over his arm. "Are your powers back up and running properly?" the man asks. Emilio helps Andrew into his jacket as Jon nods.<br/>
<br/>
"I should be good to go now. Where are you heading off to?" Jon asks.<br/>
<br/>
Andrew begins to button up his coat but Emilio takes over rather swiftly. "We're going to meet with Doctor Crane. Andrew has decided that he's going to see just what he can find to throw a wrench in Crane's plans," Emilio answers, accented words flowing from his mouth smoothly.<br/>
<br/>
Andrew nods and digs through his pocket as he says, "Call me if you need any information. I'll give you what I can." A sleek, red phone is offered out to him and Jon nods and gets from the bed carefully to accept it. Emilio straightens Andrew's collar, then turns and holds up the bag. Jon takes it in his grasp hesitantly.<br/>
<br/>
He pulls out his suit, eyes wide when he notices the mends in it. It's rather fine work, especially for someone who didn't know exactly what material was used. "Thanks," he says sincerely, lips curling up to form a smile.<br/>
<br/>
Emilio brushes it off easily but Andrew shrugs. "I owed you for that mess, earlier. I should have listened to this one," Andrew murmurs. Emilio nudges the man gently and Jon looks between the two with furrowed brows.<br/>
<br/>
He then rushes off to the bathroom for a quick change. The suit hugs his skin comfortably, still, and Jon tugs on his boots with a grin. It feels good to be moving again after having to lay around in pain all day.<br/>
<br/>
He bursts from the bathroom and strikes a pose. "Well, how do I look?" Jon drawls, pretending to flip his hair with his hand. Andrew claps with a little laugh while Emilio raises an eyebrow.<br/>
<br/>
"You look like yourself, that's for sure," Andrew comments. Jon sneers at him playfully but levitates himself.<br/>
<br/>
Jon glides over to the window and raises an eyebrow. They're still in Gotham, it seems. The sky is darkening, but they seem to be at the outskirts of the city. He pushes open the window and darts out of it. Then, he turns around and waves at them.<br/>
<br/>
Andrew salutes him and Emilio merely dips his head. Jon then finds himself shooting through the air with a wild laugh.<br/>
<br/>
It feels <em>incredible</em> to be up in the sky again. Jon twists in the air, back toward the city, and lets himself hurtle down toward the buildings gleefully. The wind rushes past him and Jon can feel his heart pounding in his chest.<br/>
<br/>
He catches himself before he hits a rooftop, landing gently just to dash across it and throw himself off the edge. Then, he flies off in the direction he knows to be where the Batcave is. Jon hopes everyone will be waiting there. He hopes Dick's okay now, too.<br/>
<br/>
It only takes him a few minutes to approach Wayne Manor. He finds an unlocked window, the top floor bathroom window, and pushes it open to climb inside. Jon strolls through and checks his reflection again.<br/>
<br/>
His hair is rather wild but his burn marks look even better than they did before. They're less angry looking and more smooth. Jon touches over the one that crawls across his nose and tips his head. They don't look horrible but he's going to have to cover them up when he's Jonathan Kent, else it'd make connecting the dots easy for everyone in Metropolis and Gotham.<br/>
<br/>
He slips out the bathroom and slides down the banister of the stairs until he's bounding through the house. Jon activates the entrance from the office and descends down the stairs to the cave.<br/>
<br/>
There are heated voices echoing. Jon hears the entrance to the cave slam shut behind him as he gets closer. One of them belongs to Jason and the other belongs to Dick. Jon swings from around the corner and gawks at the scene hes greeted with.<br/>
<br/>
Jason and Dick are shouting at each other, Dick sitting on the cot with a bandage around his head while Jason points at his ankle furiously. Tim is seated at the Batcomputer but his eyes are tired. Cass is seated next to him but her head rests against Tim's shoulder. Damian is hunched in a chair. There's a new bandage over his arm and his nose looks bruised.<br/>
<br/>
They all look a little battered, actually. Jon clears his throat and beams under the attention. "Good to see you're all just the same chaotic bunch without me," Jon chirps. There's a brief moment of disbelieving silence.<br/>
<br/>
Alfred is the first one to stand with a relieved look. The man says into the phone, "I stand corrected, Lois. Your son has just found his way back here after all." Jon barely has time to react to the words before Jason's tugging the boy close to him.<br/>
<br/>
"<em>Jesus</em>, kid. Don't fuckin' do that shit to us!" Jason reprimands. Jon laughs as Dick hobbles over to pull him into a hug.<br/>
<br/>
"I can't really control when I'm going to get kidnapped. Are you okay, Dick?" Jon asks, pulling away to examine the man. Dick smiles weakly and ruffles Jon's hair gently.<br/>
<br/>
He murmurs, "I'll be alright. Just a cut up here. Are <em>you</em> okay? You've got..." Dick trails off as he cups Jon's face to look at the scars with pursed lips. Jon can't respond before he's being pulled from Dick's grasp and into the dual grasps of Tim and Cass. He hugs back as the girl presses a kiss to his cheek and Tim plants one on his forehead.<br/>
<br/>
"Good God, Jon. Stay out of trouble for five minutes, would you?" Tim admonishes. Jon shoots him an apologetic look but he turns away when he hears footsteps approaching. A hand grasps his wrist and leads him away from the crowd, who turns to chat among themselves in a false sense of privacy.<br/>
<br/>
Suddenly, the boy throws himself at Jon. Damian's got a grip on his waist to tug him closer. He presses his face against the crook of Jon's neck and leans against him, exhaustion translating through his actions.<br/>
<br/>
Jon automatically winds his arms around Damian and buries his face against the smaller boy's hair. They stand like that for a few moments, just holding each other, until Damian pulls away. His eyes are wet and Jon feels his heart break at the first tears.<br/>
<br/>
"Hey, hey, woah. I'm okay," Jon soothes. A sob suddenly leaves his friend's mouth and Jon pulls his arms from around Damian to wipe at the spilling from the boy's eyes.<br/>
<br/>
Damian glares at Jon despite his crying. "You can't just-just <em>do</em> that! God, Jon, do you know how I felt when-when Cass picked u-up Dick and you were just <em>gone</em>?!" he blubbers. A wounded noise leaves his throat when he seemingly spots the scarring on Jon's face. "Christ, Jon, what the hell happened?" Damian whispers, brows furrowing and fingers brushing across Jon's face.<br/>
<br/>
"That's why I was, er, missing, Dami. And-ah-Carter basically laid out a trap. I guess he was occupying that warehouse and decided Dick would make good bait. Hit me with a kryptonite laced net and knife," Jon explains. Damian's expression changes to one of fury and Jon knows as much as he wishes he could lie and say Carter didn't lay a hand on him it'd be worse in the long run if he lied. Losing even some of Damian's trust was not an option.<br/>
<br/>
Damian's fingers trail down his body purposefully and Jon lets him. He prods at the tender flesh of his stomach and Jon winces. Damian's eyes narrow and Jon shrugs helplessly. "It wasn't fun. The good news, however, is that Carter's willing to work with us."<br/>
<br/>
"I want to rip him limb from limb."<br/>
<br/>
"<em>Oh my God</em>, Damian, <em>no</em>."<br/>
<br/>
Jon rubs at his face as Damian pulls back. "I'm not working with that-that bastard who dared to lay a hand on you like that!" Damian snarls. Jon tugs Damian back closer to him and shakes his head.<br/>
<br/>
"This is our chance, Dami. We've got one of Crane's most trusted people willing to give us information!" Jon argues.<br/>
<br/>
Damian rips himself away from Jon's grasp and paces, uncaring of the mess his face is. He tells Jon, "You want to work with the man who killed some innocent people? Who drugged up Arkham inmates, my <em>brother</em>, and tor-tortured you? Really, Jon? You?!" Damian nearly shouts, fingers tugging at his own hair in frustration.<br/>
<br/>
Jon crosses his arms over his chest. "He felt like that was his only choice. Aren't you the one that preaches 'victims of circumstances' to Jason?! About those who feel they have no choice anymore?" Jon says.<br/>
<br/>
"<em>Everybody</em> has a tragic backstory, Jon! His actions can't just be forgotten because he had a sad childhood!" Damian snaps.<br/>
<br/>
"Of course not! That doesn't mean he can't get a second chance, Dami. Your father gave all of you here second chances in plenty of ways! Hell, he gave the Clown Prince of Crime a second chance. Give Carter a chance to prove himself! <em>Please</em>!"<br/>
<br/>
Damian makes a drawn out, angry groan with the back of his throat. He crosses his own arms over his chest and hunches slightly, jaw tensed with anger. Jon waits quietly, ignoring the soft chatter from the others.<br/>
<br/>
Finally, the boy meets his eyes with a scowl. "Fine," he says. Jon's shoulders slump in relief and he lets a smile cross his face.<br/>
<br/>
"Thank you, Dami," Jon murmurs. Damian holds up a hand to halt anymore words.<br/>
<br/>
"Two conditions; one, if he steps one toe out of line I <em>will</em> decapitate him and that's a promise," Damian says. Jon nods slowly in agreement and watches Damian stride up to him until there's essentially no space between them.<br/>
<br/>
Jon asks, "What's your second demand?"<br/>
<br/>
Damian tips his face up. "Kiss me," he breathes. Jon's face flushes with heat and he knows he's blushing horribly. He ignores it and leans down to connect their lips hesitantly. Damian pushes himself onto his toes and throws his arms around Jon's neck.<br/>
<br/>
It's everything Jon could've dreamed of and more. The love of his life (and <em>that</em> has him wanting to shriek into his pillow like a schoolgirl with a crush) kissing the life out of him.<br/>
<br/>
Jon's mind swiftly goes blank when Damian's teeth nip his bottom lip before he pulls back. Jon's eyes are wide as he stares at Damian, face warm and heart pounding furiously.<br/>
<br/>
"Wo-wow..." Jon murmurs. Damian presses another chaste kiss to Jon's lips and smiles at him. They're content to keep exchanging kisses, the newness of it all making Jon feel giddy and excited.<br/>
<br/>
"Fucking <em>finally</em>," Jason shouts.<br/>
<br/>
Jon's jumps and he turns with a sheepish expression. There are amused filled agreements from the others, Alfred looking proudly between them. When he glances at Damian the boy looks like the cat that got the cream, eyes gleaming in satisfaction and smirk smug. Jon shudders and turns away with bright red cheeks.<br/>
<br/>
"If you two lovebirds are finished," Tim says after the others' comments die down, "then we can get started on tracking down Crane, yeah?" Tim drawls. Damian's expression hardens and they approach the Batcomputer.<br/>
<br/>
"You're right, sorry Tim," Jon says as he leans against the back of the chair where Tim is seated. Tim shrugs it off with a teasing smile and merely claps Jon on the arm.<br/>
<br/>
Dick says from where he's seated again, "Let's start with what we know and go from there."<br/>
<br/>
Tim grins and turns back to the computer to navigate through a few files. "I'm way ahead of you, Dickie-bird. While you and Jason bickered like an old married couple, I compiled a list of what we know about Crane's plans and possible targets," Tim chirps, bringing up a document.<br/>
<br/>
Jason reaches over to ruffle Tim's hair in approval. "Nice, Replacement," Jason says. Tim preens as he scrolls through.<br/>
<br/>
Alfred and Cass walk over. The elder man lets out a heavy sigh as he reads over what Tim has written.<br/>
<br/>
"Let's get to work, shall we?" Alfred murmurs.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Next few chapters will have more action, I promise you guys. things will begin to resolve themselves...</p><p>as always lease kudo and comment if you enjoyed :) i love y'all comments sm they motivate the hell outta me</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0012"><h2>12. Interlude-Andrew Carter & Bruce Wayne</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>POV shift!</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I know a lot of you guys might be annoyed by Andrew playing such a big role and I'm sorry if that's the case but I love him. His character ran away from me and demanded to be important (oops)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>OUTSKIRTS OF GOTHAM<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
Andrew steps out of the car with a sigh. Emilio shuts the door behind him and drifts closer. The man gives Andrew a look of uncertainty before laying a hand on his arm. Andrew furrows his brows in confusion and turns to his guard at the unusual actions.<br/>
<br/>
"Be careful, would you? I don't trust Doctor Crane as far as I can throw him, sir," Emilio tells him softly. Andrew nods once and strides forward.<br/>
<br/>
"Of course. I'm always three steps ahead, aren't I?"<br/>
<br/>
They stride into the breaking down house. Andrew hates this place. It's filthy and half the time his clothes get covered in dust. He tried to get Crane to move but the man never budged. The more Andrew thinks about it the more he wonders why he let himself chase after the man for so long.<br/>
<br/>
He remembers why when he enters the house. There are guards posted on the inside. Andrew nods to them and lets Emilio fall behind him as Andrew sidles up to Crane.<br/>
<br/>
"Nate, darling, I have wonderful news," Andrew sings as the man looks down at him curiously. The man has...some organ in his hand and that's when Andrew notices the body on the table. The person looks almost unrecognizable but he identifies it as an old goon of Jonathan's.<br/>
<br/>
Jonathan asks, "What is it, Andrew?"<br/>
<br/>
Jonathan Crane slides a blood splattered arm around Andrew's waist despite Emilio's dark look and greets him with a cold kiss. For once, Andrew can't bring himself to smile at it. Instead, he turns to play with a button on Jonathan's button up with a little smirk.<br/>
<br/>
"We are one step closer to getting that sample back. Little Superboy is on his way into Death's loving hands," Andrew says. Jonathan's eyes brighten and the man grins sharply. He runs a bloodied hand through Andrew's hair approvingly. The man finds himself melting against his side just the slightest bit until he meets Emilio's eyes and shakes it off.<br/>
<br/>
Damn.<br/>
<br/>
"Very good. Did he tell you anything?" Andrew's face darkens at the words and he can't help but snarl.<br/>
<br/>
Andrew's fingers tighten around the button and he meets Jonathan's eyes. "They definitely have it and they still have no idea what it does," he says truthfully, "so we're in the clear there. Bad news; they've got it running in the Batcomputer."<br/>
<br/>
Jonathan nods slowly. "We can work with this. We've done too much to let this slip through our fingers."<br/>
<br/>
Andrew tips his head up to smile up at the man. "Don't you worry about a thing, Nate, I've got it covered. When are we putting everything into motion?" Andrew asks, watching Jonathan finally put the organ down on the table.<br/>
<br/>
"Two days. We have a schedule to stick to, Andrew, so make sure you get that sample," Jonathan instructs. Andrew leans up to press a kiss to the man's neck and pulls away.<br/>
<br/>
"Perfect. I need your key, though. I used up my last batch of toxin on Nightwing." Andrew holds out his hand expectantly. Jonathan sighs and digs through his pockets to drop his keys into Andrew's hand. The shorter man beams and saunters off after blowing a kiss. Emilio follows after him and, as soon as Andrew turns the corner, eases up.<br/>
<br/>
Emilio murmurs, "I hate him."<br/>
<br/>
Andrew snorts and picks out the right key for Jonathan's office. "I share the feeling right now, Emi, but I need to know each truck he's going to send out."<br/>
<br/>
The man stops in front of Jonathan's office and unlocks the wobbling door with the key. He urges Emilio into the room and shuts it behind them. Emilio begins to search the room, eyes sharp as he picks out what's important and what isn't. Andrew seats himself in the rickety chair in front of Jonathan's laptop and logs himself in.<br/>
<br/>
He's quick to navigate his way through the files. Transactions to other countries, emails to his workers and connections everywhere, and anything else he can find. Andrew soon even manages to bring up the sparse notes on the sample they created together to take quick snapshots of.<br/>
<br/>
Not everything was written down and this was years of research. He hopes Jon and Damian can manage to get the analysis right.<br/>
<br/>
Andrew pockets his phone and does his best to erase his tracks. Jonathan doesn't often check his history or things like that because he never has to. Traitors always ended up like the man downstairs.<br/>
<br/>
Emilio offers Andrew four vials of fear toxin and Andrew accepts them gratefully. "Let's get out of here, yeah?" Emilio whispers. Andrew nods and Emilio opens the door while Andrew walks through. He pockets them in full view of Jonathan, presses a kiss to the man's cheek, and flounces out the door. As soon as the door closes he grimaces.<br/>
<br/>
"Let's get this son of a bitch, Emi," Andrew murmurs.<br/>
<br/>
"Of course, Mr. Carter."<br/>
<br/>
They slide into the car, Emilio pulling out of the lot and Andrew grabbing his phone from his coat pocket. He scrolls through his contacts until he finds Jon's number and dials it. He has to only wait a few moments of silence until Jon picks up.<br/>
<br/>
"Andrew?"<br/>
<br/>
There's murmuring in the background and Andrew guesses it's the others in their little base. Andrew says, "Emilio and I got in and out. Nat-uh-Jonathan tells me in two days he's sending out the shipments to quite a few countries as well. You'll need to tip off the police to intercept those because they're traveling by plane," Andrew says as they head down the road.<br/>
<br/>
Jon curses and exclaims, "Two days? But what about this sample? Doesn't he want to wait for that?"<br/>
<br/>
"He's expecting me to get it. I implied you were still on that floor dying, which means it'd be easier to make a trade with you all. Your life for the sample; an offer none of you would refuse," Andrew says.<br/>
<br/>
Jon sighs and seems to be pacing. "What does it even do? We've got the report but Tim says he's never seen these things together before."<br/>
<br/>
Andrew leans back in the car and looks up when Emilio wordlessly hands him a report. It has another list of trucks that will be moving cases of fear toxin to the airports to be delivered. Andrew nods in thanks and presses the phone to his ear with his shoulder.<br/>
<br/>
"I don't know everything that's in there since I know Jonathan modified it after I did my part. I do know how it works; it's the formula for the standard fear toxin but with a few twists. I added <em>Dendrocnide moroides</em> into the formula. Jonathan experimented and found something, I don't know what unfortunately, to keep the lucid enough to feel everything but not be coherent enough to fight it off or get help," Andrew explains.<br/>
<br/>
There's soft whispering for a moment and Andrew waits until a new voice says, "Gympie gympie? Genius!" Andrew smiles.<br/>
<br/>
"Thank you. Tim Drake-Wayne, I presume?" he asks. After there are noises from everyone else Andrew assumes he's on speaker.<br/>
<br/>
"What-what's the goal? How does this even work?" Grayson's voice sounds. Andrew feels a pang of regret when he hears the rasp. The man had been screaming quite a bit when he'd taken him by surprise with the fear toxin.<br/>
<br/>
Emilio turns the car and reaches in the back for his own phone to call some of Andrew's more trusted men and women. Andrew says, "We only tested it once but it worked rather well. The whole idea of it is to put the-er, <em>victim</em>-in a coma like state. The <em>Dendrocnide moroides</em> is quite painful, known as the suicide plant, and would keep them in a constant state of agony without treatment of any sort. Finally, Jonathan's regular old fear toxin would have them stuck in a constant cycle of their worst fears until their body gives up completely."<br/>
<br/>
There's silence before a quiet, "Holy shit that's brutal," echoes from Todd. Andrew feels pleased. He thought so too.<br/>
<br/>
Emilio makes another turn as he speaks and Andrew sorts through the documents. "As for the why, well, Jonathan likes to study fear. Doing all this brings in a lot of toys for him to play with from all different parts of the world," he murmurs. He'd be all for it, really. He found the idea of having a bunch of specimens to poke and prod at to be particularly wonderful.<br/>
<br/>
If only Jonathan wasn't plotting to make him one of them.<br/>
<br/>
He hears a feminine hum from the background and perks with interest. Too low to be the Gordon girl and too loud to be Cain.<br/>
<br/>
"What countries are the shipments being sent to?" Selina Kyle's voice filters through. Andrew perks up in interest but skims through the listings.<br/>
<br/>
"Write this down; we've got Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chad, Cuba, Egypt, France, Germany, Greece...." he continues listing through the countries.<br/>
<br/>
Kyle makes a few positive hums and there seems to be a lot of shuffling when he finishes. "Bats and the rest of the Justice League aren't due back for another week. We've got to catch these before the shipments make it out. Alfred, Jason, would you mind getting the good Commissioner Gordon on the phone? Cass, darling, call Cobblepot and have him on standby to send out some men to where I tell him," Selina directs.<br/>
<br/>
Andrew looks to Emilio and the man nods in understanding. "I've got a few of my men and women on that team. Have him put them in charge of keeping the supplies out of other states and cities. I can let them know which trucks will carry-"<br/>
<br/>
Emilio makes a frustrated noise suddenly and Andrew looks over in alarm. The man hangs up, tosses his phone aside, then makes a sharp left to pull onto a gravel road to park. Andrew glances into the rear view mirror and smirks.<br/>
<br/>
Two black cars pull up to park behind them immediately. Emilio and Andrew meet eyes and Andrew reaches behind him in the backseat with one hand. His fingers curl around the handle of his trusty bat and he tugs it into the front seat.<br/>
<br/>
"Hey, got some trouble over here. Call you back soon, yeah?" Andrew hangs up without waiting for a response and steps out of the car with the bat in hand. Emilio follows easily and twirls his knife in his hand lazily.<br/>
<br/>
Andrew approaches, hips swinging confidently. "What are you all doing here? I didn't know Nate wanted me to have an escort," he calls. Men and women in suits approach with deadpan expressions. One short haired woman, however, steps forward with a grin, arms spread out.<br/>
<br/>
"Let's not waste our time playing games. Doctor Crane knows, you little traitor. He bugged your car ages ago," she says. Andrew's lip curls in fury. How <em>dare</em> he? All that time while Jonathan was spinning pretty words of Andrew being his most trusted, he really had him tracked and bugged to ensure that. He was never really trusted. Ever.<br/>
<br/>
Andrew steps forward carefully, bat dragging across the gravel. He tips his head up to stare at the woman for a moment before he swings his bat with as much force as he can muster. It collides with her skull with a clang and her body jerks to the side, smashing into the ground.<br/>
<br/>
The others immediately begin to rush them. Emilio jumps in neatly, knife driving into anything he can manage. Andrew finds himself cackling wildly when he dispatches someone with a well placed smash to the knees. The body collapses and Andrew can't resist slamming his bat down on their head until their movements fall still.<br/>
<br/>
He's not actually sure if they're dead or not. He doesn't really care.<br/>
<br/>
Andrew grunts when someone manages to pull him in a headlock while he’s busy admiring his work. He kicks, furious, and reaches back to dig his fingers into where he estimates their eyes are. They drop him with a howl of pain and Andrew turns to kick them in the head with his boot. The person falls backwards and he takes the time to stomp on their throat while he retrieves his bat from the ground.<br/>
<br/>
There's a shrill scream of pain to his right and Andrew snaps his gaze to watch a quietly outraged Emilio stand from where he has dug his knife into someone else's throat. Andrew raises an eyebrow and the man glares.<br/>
<br/>
"Watch your back better, would you?" Emilio chides. Andrew laughs and throws an arm around the man's shoulders. He pulls Emilio closer to his side as they walk over to their car to transfer their things to the new ones.<br/>
<br/>
"I don't have to because I have you, Emi," Andrew nearly purrs. Emilio rolls his eyes but walks a little taller. Andrew shakes his head fondly.<br/>
<br/>
Sometimes Andrew regrets what he knows he has to do in the future.<br/>
<br/>
He's not sure if Emilio will survive it.</p>
<p>
  <br/>
  <br/>
</p>
<p>JUSTICE LEAGUE WATCHTOWER<br/>
<br/>
<br/>
Bruce is stalking the halls of the Watchtower, the others ahead of him, when his phone goes off. They've only just gotten back and while Bruce wishes he could just curl up under the covers with Clark and Diana they still need to get through the briefing.<br/>
<br/>
He pulls his phone from his belt and checks it with only vague curiosity. That curiosity turns to alarm when he scrolls through the notifications.<br/>
<br/>
The worst thing about their phones was that there wasn't a way to check Earth news while on other planets. That meant he had to catch up on the news and big events when they finally return to the Watchtower.<br/>
<br/>
Plenty of headlines scream about one Damian Wayne and Jonathan Kent being kidnapped by the Joker. Heart pounding much faster, Bruce scrolls through his contacts until he reaches Tim's name. He's the most likely to be at his phone and answer.<br/>
<br/>
He waits until the man picks up with a muttered greeting to ask quietly, "Are Damian and Jon alright?"<br/>
<br/>
Tim makes a sleepy noise of confusion. Bruce waits impatiently until he seems to understand. "Yeah, that's old news. They're fine. Since you're on the line though; where do you keep the extra fear toxin treatment?" he asks, sounding rather awkward.<br/>
<br/>
Alarm bells immediately go off. "Is Scarecrow loose again?" he asks. Tim makes a nervous noise and seems to pull the phone away from his ear. Bruce's jaw clenches until Damian's voice takes over.<br/>
<br/>
"We have it completely covered, father. We just need it on hand," he says. Neither of them speak for a few seconds until Damian gives in. "Yes, alright, fine; he's got a plot but we have it covered! We <em>just</em> need the extra supply."<br/>
<br/>
Bruce closes his eyes in frustration. "We used up the extra batch during his last escape. There aren't any that'll be ready immediately," he explains, dread building.<br/>
<br/>
"Fuck."<br/>
<br/>
"<em>Language!</em>" Bruce finds himself saying instinctively.<br/>
<br/>
Damian makes a frustrated noise and takes the phone away from his mouth to shout, "The extra supply is out! Call back Carter and tell him we're fucked on that front and can't have anything experimental in the two days!"<br/>
<br/>
"Damian-!"<br/>
<br/>
Damian makes another angry noise as it sounds like the phone is snatched away. "Hey, Bruce, Mr. Dent wants you to hurry your ass up and visit him. Poor guy misses you!" Barbara chirps through the phone.<br/>
<br/>
Someone seemingly grabs the phone from her before Bruce can get in a word. "Sorry, pops, but we're running on a time limit. Have a safe trip back, would you? We've got our hands full enough as is," Jason says.<br/>
<br/>
Bruce is offended and highly worried when the man hangs up.<br/>
<br/>
He should've never left them alone.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>Tiny glimpse of Bruce. Andrew certainly had a lot of fun in here. A million points if someone correctly guesses what's up with Andrew </p>
<p>We're actually getting near the end of this. I have another chaptered (but more chill) fic planned already but that will def not happen until after I finish this. I wanna say this has 2-4 more chapters left depending on how i break them up!</p>
<p>Back to the normal Jon POV next chapter :) please kudo and comment if you enjoyed!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0013"><h2>13. Any Other Way</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Final showdown: Andrew, Damian, and Jon vs. Crane</p><p>...sort of</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I really hope you guys enjoy this because I certainly did :))))</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jon lunges for his phone when Andrew finally calls back. Damian hops down from where he snaps his gum idly while the others gather around the phone. Selina has an eager look on her face while Jon answers.<br/>
<br/>
"You alright to talk?" Jon checks. Andrew makes a positive sound and there's the rumbling of an engine in the background.<br/>
<br/>
"Bad news; Crane's onto my ass so I don't have too much time. He bugged my fucking car so he's gonna be shipping shit out as soon as possible. Get everyone you have on these locations I'm going to send you," he says.<br/>
<br/>
Jon curses at the words and forwards the next text messages to their phones. Tim hurries over to the Batcomputer to message the Commissioner again. Selina's jaw clenches and she directs Cass back to the phone to call back Cobblepot.<br/>
<br/>
"Alfred, get Duke on the phone, would you? Tell him to keep an eye out in Metropolis for large shipments coming through. We might have already missed some, so have him on high alert," Selina tells him. Alfred nods and moves to the phone, already dialing Duke's number.<br/>
<br/>
Dick grimaces. "I'll call Steph and Wally to look out in Central City. I have a bad feeling about all this."<br/>
<br/>
Tim is in the middle of calling the Commissioner when Jon glances over. "We're on it, Andrew. Is there anything else you can tell us?" Jon asks.<br/>
<br/>
Andrew lets out a tension filled sigh. "He's going to go underground," he says quietly, "and he probably won't show up on your radar. He's got safe houses all over this damn city but he might even book it for some other country."<br/>
<br/>
Jason leans his forearms against the table, eyes narrowed as he tries to think. He asks, "Do you have even the slightest clue where he might be going?"<br/>
<br/>
Andrew makes a negative hum. "He never let me go to his extra safe houses. That bastard was paranoid but it's starting to look like it's paying off."<br/>
<br/>
Jon taps his fingers against the table. Things were going to go sour if they couldn't manage to nab Crane in time. There had to be a way to keep him from getting out of the city until they could stop all the shipments of toxin and capture Crane. There's no way they can let him roam free like this. That'd spell disaster for everyone.<br/>
<br/>
"Tim, Barbara, you're going to help me start producing anti-toxin. It doesn't matter if it's not going to be ready in time," Selina calls. Tim nods and lets Damian take over the computer. Barbara murmurs something to Cass, to which the young woman nods to, and walks after Selina.<br/>
<br/>
Tim says, "It's a good idea. Alfred, would you mind helping us after you finish up? There's going to be some that slip through under our noses and we need to be ready for it," he calls. Alfred covers the receiver and nods.<br/>
<br/>
"I'll be right over, Master Tim."<br/>
<br/>
If even just a few of those toxins got through outside of Gotham it'd be a disaster. Other cities weren't equipped to handle it, and rushing the anti-toxins into another country wouldn't be ideal.<br/>
<br/>
Jason rubs over his face in frustration. He growls, "We need some way to track his ass. If we could do that we can easily take him down."<br/>
<br/>
Jon freezes when a thought hits him. It's a terrible idea. It's awful, and horrible, and just might work if he's right.<br/>
<br/>
"Andrew, have other criminals ever been to Crane's safe houses?" Jon asks. Jason meets his eyes in confusion. Jon shrugs helplessly despite his excitement and the pounding of his heart.<br/>
<br/>
Andrew tells them, "Yeah, I think so. Sometimes he'd lay low with someone else. Most often Dent or Tetch. Sometimes, he worked with Freeze, too. Why? You think they'll give up a location?" he asks.<br/>
<br/>
"Maybe. I call you back in a few minutes, Andrew." Jon can feel himself grinning and takes the man off speaker before he hands up. He hurries over to where Damian is plotting the locations on maps, eyes flitting between the three screens hurriedly.<br/>
<br/>
"Dami," Jon leans over the back of the chair to murmur in his ear. Damian tips his head back to hear Jon whisper, "I might have a very stupid, very risky plan to get Crane behind bars. You in?"<br/>
<br/>
Damian pauses from his work and pushes the chair back. Jon stumbles but smiles when Damian nods. The boy turns and shouts, "Todd, take over! We've got something to discuss right quick."<br/>
<br/>
Jason makes a fake gagging noise and Damian flips him off instinctively. They make their way to where the animatronic T-Rex stands tall, impressive eyes gazing down at them.<br/>
"What is it?" Damian asks quietly.<br/>
<br/>
Jon says, "Jason mentioned that he wished that we could track Crane to know where he's most likely going. I realized that, while we can't, we know people who can."<br/>
<br/>
Damian's mouth parts in slight surprise. "You want to have the others tell us where Crane is going to be? Do you really think the residents of Arkham, who've been locked up for quite awhile, are going to know where he's going to hide out for the next month or so?" Damian asks skeptically.<br/>
<br/>
Jon shakes his head. "That's not what I'm getting at. They might not know exactly and we don't have time to search everywhere they direct us to. We need more help, Dami," Jon hints.<br/>
<br/>
Damian's expression turns to one of slight horror. "You want us to <em>let out those psychos</em>?!" he hisses, eyes disbelieving.<br/>
<br/>
Jon waves his hands. "Hear me out; they want revenge. Like, serious revenge. Most of them would be willing to put aside the schemes in favor of being the one to capture Crane themselves."<br/>
<br/>
Damian's head tips to the side thoughtfully. He studies Jon's face for a few moments then smiles meanly.<br/>
<br/>
"Fine. I've always wanted to stage a breakout," he drawls. Jon shakes his head and takes out his phone again to text Andrew. "Are we going to bring the others?" Jon asks.<br/>
<br/>
Damian scoffs. "They'd never let us. We get out of here before the mother hens notice."<br/>
<br/>
Jon holds out his hand and Damian accepts it with a tiny smile. He slides his hand into Jon's and squeezes it reassuringly. Jon looks at their connected hands with an adoring look.<br/>
<br/>
He never thought he'd end up like this. Here he was holding his boyfriend (<em>boyfriend!!</em>) before they went out to kick Doctor Crane's ass and saved pretty much the whole world. Who knew stealing a car would lead to this all?<br/>
<br/>
As if he can read his thoughts, Damian turns to Jon and pushes himself onto his toes to press their lips together. Kissing Damian is becoming one of his favorite things to do and the thought has him smiling against Damian's lips.<br/>
<br/>
He pulls back and tries to gather his thoughts again. Damian, however, clutches his hand the slightest bit tighter until Jon looks down at him. "Be careful, Jon. Please," Damian says. Jon smiles and plants a loud kiss on his forehead. Damian makes a strangled shriek in discomfort and jerks away to rub at his face.<br/>
<br/>
Jon can't help but laugh, dragging Damian back to his side. Once they've calmed, Jon says, "I promise I'll be careful. The same goes for you too, you know. I'm not losing you Damian."<br/>
<br/>
Damian smiles and they head back to where his weapons are hanging in their rightful place. He begins to fill his belt with various gadgets until he reaches his katana. He straps it to his back securely and turns to Jon with an excited grin.<br/>
<br/>
"Let's go," he murmurs. Jon straightens his mask and nods once. He winds his arm around Damian's waist and Damian throws an arm around his shoulders. Then, they're off, flying through the air.<br/>
<br/>
Jon barely registers the shouts from the others but he guides them through the exit of the cave meant for the Batclan's jets and helicopters. They fly into the darkness, Damian's eyes squinting against the wind while Jon tries to steady them.<br/>
<br/>
They arrive at the parking lot of Akrham. As soon as his feet are touching the pavement Damian breaks away to stride over to the booth. Jon hovers after him, a groan leaving his lips when he spots the same guard as the last time. The man's eyes narrow when he spots them.<br/>
<br/>
"What are you kids doing here again?" the man growls. Damian scowls and in seconds his hands are pulling out his taser. Then, the man is howling in pain. Jon gapes as he goes down and Jon looks to Damian in slight terror as he watches him pull the prongs from the man's body and hook his stun gun back on his belt.<br/>
<br/>
Jon murmurs, "Holy shit..." to which Damian merely smirks at. They only have to wait a few more minutes for a dark car to roll up to the lot. Jon watches Emilio and Andrew step out, Andrew's clothes ruined with dried blood. He grimaces at the sight of the bloodied bat but doesn't bother asking about it.<br/>
<br/>
"What's the plan, here?" Andrew asks as he ambles closer. Emilio looks them over with an uninterested gaze which Damian returns as he speaks.<br/>
<br/>
Damian explains and Andrew uses his free hand to scratch at his nose. "Is that really going to be enough? What about those who've already escaped?" he asks. Damian looks to the man with a thoughtful gaze.<br/>
<br/>
"I was thinking we'd send them an offer they can't refuse. We broadcast it over television. Gives residents sufficient warning to get the hell off the streets and reaches plenty more eager souls."<br/>
<br/>
Andrew's eyes gleam with clear approval and Jon smirks. "It's perfect. Now, let's get in there before that guard is up and sounding the alarm," Jon says. The four of them make their way through the gates and up to the front doors. Andrew meets their eyes before he pushes the doors open.<br/>
<br/>
The place is busy. So much so that nobody bothers to try and check in the four of them. Damian takes full advantage of this and leads them through the falls. Andrew gets a few looks from the nurses and other staff, especially with his bat dragging across the floor, but none of them seem bold enough to try and stop the group.<br/>
<br/>
Jon opens the door, mindful of the guards on either side, and slides through. The others step into the first floor of cells and Damian strides over to where Dent paces.<br/>
<br/>
"Listen up," Damian shouts. The chatter of the patients dies down and Harvey Dent looks up in interest, "Superboy, Mr. Andrew Carter and I all have a nice offer for you all!" Damian calls, sauntering down past the cells to glance over who's still in.<br/>
<br/>
Tetch is sprawled on his cot, a dark grin on his face. Newly brought in Nygma watches him with a calculating expression from where he leans against the bars of his cell. Damian catches his eye and the man wiggles his fingers in a mocking wave.<br/>
<br/>
Andrew twirls his bat. "I'm not gonna apologize for working with Crane. I don't apologize ever. What I'll do instead is help you catch that son of a bitch. We're having a little trouble finding the bastard ever since he found out I double crossed him. We're gonna need your help," he says, voice tight with pent up rage. It was clear he wanted to get in a good hit when they brought him in.<br/>
<br/>
"What exactly are we getting from this?" Langstrom, who's trussed up in a straitjacket and looking furious, spits from his cell.<br/>
<br/>
Jon watches him with careful eyes. "We know what Crane did in here. We also know what the guards let him do. Everyone turned a blind eye, didn't they? You must be fuckin' fuming, right?" Jon says, voice carefully controlled.<br/>
<br/>
There's a bit of restless murmurs. Nygma looks especially furious, eyes blazing as he suddenly turns away. Jon nods slowly and throws out his hands.<br/>
<br/>
"Well, we're offering you all a little fun. The first to find Doctor Jonathan Crane gets to keep him for five, uninterrupted minutes. We need him alive and not traumatized, mind you, but Robin and I are willing to let the winner get in a few good swings without repercussions," Jon drawls.<br/>
<br/>
There's a new energy in the air. Langstrom is struggling to his feet with wild eyes while Dent's expression transforms into a vicious leer.<br/>
<br/>
"One catch; don't touch the civilians. They shouldn't be a problem soon but if we find out one of you has maimed or killed you'll be the first one to return. Perhaps not with all your limbs intact, either," Damian says pleasantly. Someone makes an angry noise at the words but they all know Damian will make good on that threat.<br/>
<br/>
Andrew hums and points to the boys. He tells them, "Get to the TV station and call me when I should let them out. We wouldn't want anyone to get a head start now would we?" Andrew purrs.<br/>
<br/>
Jon salutes playfully. "I trust you can inform those on the other floors too?" he asks. Andrew nods.<br/>
<br/>
"Emi and I will split up. They'll be ready."<br/>
<br/>
Jon nods and Damian snags him by the hand. They rush off while Andrew and Emilio head the opposite way to head further into the belly of the beast named Arkham.<br/>
<br/>
They head out the nearest window. Jon feels a little bad when they raid the same news station that Joker and his little crew did before but this time there's less unconscious bodies and more very thinly veiled threats.<br/>
<br/>
Jon knows he probably looks like a lunatic as he beams at the camera but he's rather excited. Damian lounges on the table with his legs crossed and has Jon's phone ready to send a text to Andrew.<br/>
<br/>
"So sorry to interrupt the news on this wonderful Gotham evening. We just have one teeny, tiny message to send out," he chirps, looking over to Damian.<br/>
<br/>
Damian says, "Criminals, supervillains, and henchmen alike; have you or someone you know been injected with Doctor Crane's fear toxin while stuck in Arkham? Forced to be his little test subject? Do you want the chance to get revenge? If any of you answered yes then congratulations; you've got that opportunity now," Damian says. Jon snickers but nods along.<br/>
<br/>
"That's right, folks. The first one to capture Doctor Crane will get a good five minutes to beat the ever loving shit out of him without consequences! How's that for a prize?"<br/>
<br/>
Damian sends the text and smiles coolly at the blinking camera. "And civilians of Gotham? I'd stay off the streets for awhile."<br/>
<br/>
"There's gonna be a hunt tonight," Jon finishes, a cruel and excited grin on his face.<br/>
<br/>
Someone was going to get Crane. Between all of the supervillains and criminals that were going to be roaming the streets, gunning for even just a chance of revenge. It was going to be ugly, and brutal, and Jon can't find it in himself to feel sorry. The man had brought it on himself for messing with such vicious and intelligent men and women, thinking there wouldn't be an ounce of backlash.<br/>
<br/>
Damian kicks over the camera without remorse and they head out the room. Jon's phone is vibrating furiously, as is Damian's communicator. They exchange a glance before Damian gives in.<br/>
<br/>
"Robin here," he greets.<br/>
<br/>
"What the <em>hell</em> are you doing?! Do you know what a monumentally <em>stupid</em> plan this is?!" Tim's voice snaps through it. Damian snorts.<br/>
<br/>
He says slowly, "Aw, Drake, it almost sounds like you care about me."<br/>
<br/>
Tim makes a frustrated noise and Jon steps out the open window. Damian sits on the windowsill and swings his legs out. Then, he cuts off the ranting man over his communicator.<br/>
<br/>
"This is the best chance we've got to get Crane. They'll flush him out and we can corner him. Simple as that, Drake. So spare me your inane lecture, would you? Just keep those shipments in Gotham and everything will be fine," Damian snarls.<br/>
<br/>
He shuts the device and ignores the immediate beeping. Instead, he slides it back into his belt and takes a hold of Jon's shoulders, one arm holding him from either side while Jon clutches him tightly by the waist.<br/>
<br/>
"Now," Jon says, "I suppose we wait,"<br/>
<br/>
The time passes by relatively quickly. In fact, they don't really have to wait long before Andrew is calling them.<br/>
<br/>
"I've got him cornered in Arkham. He gave Joker the slip and I've got him in my sights," Andrew says, sounding out of breath. There's metal echoing and Jon assumes they're bolting down the steps to the lower levels.<br/>
<br/>
"We're on our way. Sit tight, yeah?" Jon hangs up and they're off from the rooftop they were resting on. The wind whips around them as Jon guides them to Arkham Asylum once more. He keeps his grip on Damian's waist firm while he flies, not willing to risk dropping him while he brings them around the building swiftly.<br/>
<br/>
Damian's fingers tighten in their grip. "What floor are they on?" he asks almost frantically. This is what they've been waiting for.<br/>
<br/>
Jon's eyes glow faintly as he looks into the building, eyes darting around. Figures convulsing on the floor (they needed the anti-toxin and <em>soon</em>), other nurses and staff running through the building in a panic.<br/>
<br/>
He looks down and curses. Crane is holding his own against Andrew on a catwalk in Waylon's area. Andrew lunges for the man but Crane is quick to catch the end of his bat, one of his boots slamming into Andrew's stomach to push him away while his hands yank the weapon to wield for himself. Waylon is slamming against his tank's walls furiously below them.<br/>
<br/>
"They're with Waylon," Jon says, and shoots them forward. He turns them around so his back is to the building, Damian anticipating this and ducking his head against Jon's chest. They crash through the walls of Arkham only one floor above where the fight is happening.<br/>
<br/>
Damian recovers and rolls out of Jon's hold. "That'll get this place repaired properly for sure, now," he comments. Jon laughs as he stands and they race down the hallway until Damian slams open the door to head down the stairs.<br/>
<br/>
Jon darts ahead, not bothering with the locks. He kicks it off of the hinges and barely flinches as the metal scrapes across the floor. Damian runs past him and aims his grappling hook at the catwalk as Andrew howls in pain and outrage above them.<br/>
<br/>
The boy shoots up and Jon follows. He knocks into Crane with a solid kick that sends the man flying across the catwalk. Damian leaps over Andrew's body to distract Crane, who is already on his feet, and Jon checks on Andrew's heaving form.<br/>
<br/>
"Are you alright?" he murmurs despite the answer obviously being a resounding no. One of his eyes is shut tightly shut due to a jagged wound down half his face. His nose is leaking blood steadily while one of his hands is clutching his midsection tightly.<br/>
<br/>
"Fucker drugged me up on a stronger type of his fe-fear toxin. I'll be fine but you gotta take that bitch down, Jon," Andrew hisses. Jon nods and stands, stalking to where Damian is dodging a furious slam of the metal bat.<br/>
<br/>
Jon intercepts quickly. His hand catches the end of it easily, just as Crane did earlier, and he wrenches it out of the man's hand. Then, he tosses it over the side of the catwalk.<br/>
<br/>
"It's over, Crane. We've got people all over your shipments. They're not gonna get a goddamn wheel out of this city. We've got you outmatched."<br/>
<br/>
Crane chuckles raspily. The mouth of his mask stretches obscenely wide, stitches pulled taut. "I don't think so. You both have very obvious weaknesses. Very obvious fears," he says, blank eyes burning into them. Jon can only take one step forward before he blanches.<br/>
<br/>
The man twirls a familiar, faintly glowing knife in his hands. "Shit..." he whispers, eyes trained on the object.<br/>
<br/>
The kryptonite infused knife.<br/>
<br/>
Damian looks furious as he throws himself forward. Jon watches the two dance around each other, Damian's katana clipping the man and the man's knife catching the boy a few times with the lack of room.<br/>
<br/>
He watches Damian balance himself on the railing of the catwalk to fight, leg slamming into Crane's head. The man stumbles back and Damian jumps down to slash at him with his katana. The man is quick to duck out of the way, sparks flying with the collision of metal just where Crane's body was.<br/>
<br/>
"Fight me properly, you <em>coward</em>!" Damian shouts. Jon sees the glint of a needle even in the awful lighting and is at Damian's back in seconds.<br/>
<br/>
He grips Damian's cape and yanks him out of the way. Crane's needle embeds itself into Damian's skin but the plunger is only half depressed. Damian makes a pained noise and stumbles back, so Jon throws himself into the battle completely.<br/>
<br/>
Crane and him grapple. The close proximity with the knife is weakening him and they both know it. Jon throws an arm up to stop him from swinging the knife down at his head. The boy grits his teeth, digs in his feet, and shoves.<br/>
<br/>
Crane doesn't lose his grip on the knife as he stumbles back. Instead, he seems to hold it tighter, and Jon barely moves out of the way when he comes back viciously.<br/>
<br/>
Jon swings his leg up and his boot smashes straight into Crane's face. Crane grunts and lurches backward. Jon watches Damian rejoin the fight with a swift kick to the back of the man's head. Damian lands lightly if slightly off balance, skin looking slightly clammy.<br/>
<br/>
That shit must be strong if Damian was already feeling it with only a half dose. Jon blocks another attack from Crane, arms straining more the closer the knife gets to him.<br/>
<br/>
Damian goes to swing his katana again when Crane lashes out, his leg catching Damian's in the stomach. The boy flies back, body rag-dolling through the air before he slides across the catwalk with a thud. Jon is pushing against the man, fist catching him in the nose firmly, when the knife swings at him out of nowhere.<br/>
<br/>
The pain doesn't register for a moment so Jon looks up in confusion at the man. His hands begin to shake as he clutches at his suddenly burning throat. Backing away, Jon struggles to breathe around the blood beginning to fill his mouth. He stumbles into the railing and it only takes a good hit from Crane to tip his body over the railing.<br/>
<br/>
"<em><strong>JON!</strong></em>" Damian shrieks, body halfway under the catwalk railing from where he lays, one hand outstretched as if to attempt to reach him. He looks terrified, Jon notices.<br/>
<br/>
He hits something hard, and pain jolts up his back. He watches helplessly as Damian struggles to his feet to clash with Crane again, movements furious.<br/>
<br/>
Jon wants to tell him it'll be alright. That things will be absolutely fine. He can't because he can't manage to move his hands from where they desperately clutch his bleeding throat.<br/>
<br/>
He can barely think.<br/>
<br/>
He can't speak.<br/>
<br/>
He can't cry.<br/>
<br/>
It hurts so much. He almost wishes he'd just fucking die to get it over with because it hurts. His lungs are wailing for air but he can only wheeze painfully, blood dribbling from between his lips.<br/>
<br/>
Jon really wants to tell Damian he loves him.<br/>
<br/>
There's a pained scream from above and Jon watches as Crane falls to a platform. He must be on top of Waylon's tank, Jon realizes sluggishly. That's why it hurt so damn much to fall on.<br/>
<br/>
Damian's eyes are blazing like the fires of hell. He's leaning against a wall suddenly (Jon could've sworn he just blinked for a second) but he's slowly sliding down it. There's a chuckle from Crane and Jon can't believe they've lost. All this work just for him to die and Damian to succumb to the stupid fear toxin.<br/>
<br/>
Jon wants to cry.<br/>
<br/>
Suddenly, there's a pained laugh from the left of him. "This is the way things must end, Jonathan. Fate has decreed it and so it shall be," Andrew's voice rings out, sounding so weak but absolutely dripping with triumph and contempt. Crane's eyes snap to where Andrew must be standing. There’s horror etched on his face even below his mask.<br/>
<br/>
Then, a loud buzz fills the air and Jon feels the ground below him opening up. There's a furious growl that fills the room and soon enough Jon is being dunked into cold, cold water.<br/>
<br/>
The last thing he hears is Crane's screams of pain and Andrew's sobbing laughter.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>jon: we cannot let crane run around loose thats dangerous<br/>also jon: lets let out every single villain in this city at once<br/>damian: yes.</p><p>I had so much fun writing this chapter. There's going to be a missing scene chapter either in this fic later or later in the series where we get someone else's perspective because jon was kinda busy dying. also crane getting his ass kicked by the clown crew will be another </p><p>i also rlly love croc</p><p>i think there's only one chapter left, folks so i wanna take the time to thank you guys who commented and left a kudo and read this mess. there will be some editing later to polish it up and a rewritten summary but....thank yall for reading this. seriously its amazing that people actually liked this. love yall sm u have no idea</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
<a name="section0014"><h2>14. Fly Me To The Moon</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>All things must come to an end</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Enjoy :)</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Jon floats for what feels like forever. Despite what he might've thought before he doesn't dream while he's (technically) dying. He doesn't look back on his life and watch it like a movie reel. Instead, Jon simply is.<br/>
<br/>
He barely thinks. He feels jolts of pain sometimes, and occasionally he can hear a conversation or two but that's it. Most of the time Jon just is.<br/>
<br/>
Until he finally isn't.<br/>
<br/>
He wakes up with aching muscles and feeling like somebody has scraped his throat raw from the inside out. Jon stares at the ceiling of what seems like a guest room of Wayne Manor. He must make a hoarse noise as he shifts because suddenly his mother's worried eyes are looking down at him.<br/>
<br/>
"Jon..." she whispers, looking as if she might cry. Jon musters up a weak grin and forces his sluggish arm up from the bed to take her hand.<br/>
<br/>
"Hi, Ma," his voice almost gives out. Lois' lower lip trembles but she leans down to gently place a kiss on his forehead. Jon smiles at the contact. It'd be nice to just lay in bed and let his mother fuss over him.<br/>
<br/>
She swipes a few strands of hair from Jon's forehead. "Don't ever do that to your poor mother again, alright? You nearly gave me a heart attack, Jon."<br/>
<br/>
Jon blows a breath out of his nose in laughter and says, "Blame Pa and Bruce. They left Earth and we got bored."<br/>
<br/>
Lois' worried face turns exasperated. She presses another kiss to his forehead and brings her hand up to stroke at his cheek gently.<br/>
<br/>
"What am I going to do with you, sweetheart?" she murmurs fondly. Jon beams at her and shrugs shallowly, mindful of his aching body. His smile fades when he pushes his other hand up to slide over his throat gently. It's bandaged but he's hyper aware of the wound that's still trying to heal itself.<br/>
<br/>
Lois' own expression turns sour when she watches where his hands stray to. Jon's fingers can't seem to stop dancing over the bandages. He needs to touch it. He needs a reminder on why he should really, really listen to Alfred, to his mother, to Damian, and to everyone else who told him he couldn't be so reckless.<br/>
<br/>
"What...happened? After I fell into Waylon's tank..." Jon trails off, eyes unseeing. He can almost feel the freezing water against his skin again. How the salt of the water made his throat burn like hell, and Crane's pained yowls, and Andrew's mournful laughter.<br/>
<br/>
Lois sighs and Jon snaps back to reality. "I don't exactly know too much myself yet," she says, then looks to the door, "so why don't I bring in Damian? He'll know and he'll be relieved to finally see you."<br/>
<br/>
Jon's lips turn upward into a smile. "Dami wanted to see me...?" he rasps, heart fluttering despite everything.<br/>
<br/>
Lois laughs and begins to stand. Her hand that's still in Jon's squeezes reassuringly. "He's been worried sick about you, Jon. Hasn't stopped pacing since they brought you here," Lois tells him.<br/>
<br/>
Jon's face glows with a pleased flush. "I wanna see him," he says, and Lois nods.<br/>
<br/>
"I'll tell him you're asking for him. We're gonna have a long talk later though, Jon. About this and you finding yourself a boyfriend without even telling me."<br/>
<br/>
Jon groans lightly and leans back against the pillows. He can't stop the smile from taking over his face, however, and Lois' face softens when she sees it.<br/>
<br/>
"I love you, Jon," she murmurs and Jon meets her eyes easily.<br/>
<br/>
"I love you too, Ma."<br/>
<br/>
Lois slips out the room and Jon settles in for the wait. He can't help but fidget with the bandages around his neck. The wound underneath itches a bit and the bandages are stifling. He doesn't often have things around his neck, hates the feeling of it, and now it's starting to drive him crazy.<br/>
<br/>
Jon doesn't have to wait long, however, until Damian stumbles into the room. Jon first notices the bruises along Damian's nose and a particularly nasty one that's peeking up from underneath his shirt. He then double takes when he realizes Damian's in one of his old band T-shirts and sweats but he can't help the pleased smile that creeps on his lips.<br/>
<br/>
"Hi, Dami," he greets softly and Damian immediately bursts into tears. Startled, Jon reaches out for the boy and Damian shuffles over to plant himself on the bed next to Jon.<br/>
<br/>
Jon pulls Damian closer and lets the boy bury his face against his shoulder. Damian's fingers curl in Jon's white T-shirt while Jon scratches his nails over his boyfriend's back while he sobs. Damian pulls back suddenly to meet Jon's eyes. His face and eyes are reddened, lower lip trembling, and everything about him at the moment breaks Jon's heart a little.<br/>
<br/>
Damian hisses wetly, "You're an asshole, Jon. You can't keep doing this shit to me!" Jon's hands slide from Damian's back to his waist gently. They slide under his shirt to stroke at the skin reassuringly.<br/>
<br/>
"I'm okay, Damian," Jon says softly and Damian shakes his head,<br/>
<br/>
"You almost weren't. You were so still...just sinking in Waylon's tank and I thought you were dead. There's was so much-so much blood, I just-"<br/>
<br/>
Jon squeezes at Damian's waist and leans in slowly to press a featherlight kiss against his lips. Damian shudders and kisses him back firmly, his fingers curling tighter in Jon's shirt. The boy is the first to pull back but he doesn't go far. He presses their foreheads together and seems to be fixated on Jon's throat.<br/>
<br/>
He murmurs, "Please don't do that again. Stop being so reckless."<br/>
<br/>
Jon smiles sadly and finds himself wishing he could press himself closer to Damian. "I can't," Jon says quietly, "I just can't."<br/>
<br/>
And Damian's eyes harden at the words. Jon fears what comes next but Damian says, "Then I'll have to make sure you stop being so stupid, won't I?"<br/>
<br/>
Jon swallows around the lump in his throat and wants to cry himself. Instead, he asks, "What happened? After I passed out?"<br/>
<br/>
Damian maneuvers himself closer to Jon, legs soon sliding underneath the blanket and both of them shifting cautiously until Damian can rest his head against Jon's shoulder without disrupting either of their various injuries.<br/>
<br/>
"You fell over the catwalk and I-I thought you were dead. I was so angry at both Crane and-and myself for letting you get hurt like that. We fought and I managed to knock him down on the platform. I had to follow but the fear toxin was really getting to me. I thought that-that I was going to die too and I couldn't..." Damian's voice falters and Jon scrapes his nails over the skin of Damian's stomach.<br/>
<br/>
He murmurs, "It's alright, Dames. You don't have to tell me right now."<br/>
<br/>
Damian shakes his head and clears his throat. "No, no, I'm fine. I, uh, started to lose it. The dose he gave me, even with that small amount, was too much. Anymore and my heart would have apparently given out," Damian says, and before Jon can comment he continues, "Carter was only minutes from death himself. He managed to get down the stairs and open Waylon's tank."<br/>
<br/>
Jon nods. He knows that much and subconsciously shivers at the memory. It was no wonder Waylon hated it. It was cold, and dark, and Jon had been terrified of it after only a few seconds of being awake in there.<br/>
<br/>
"Waylon was furious at Crane and Carter knew this. Waylon shot out of his tank and tore Crane apart. He ate Crane limb from limb until there was nothing left besides his mask. I-I told him you were in there and he brought you out...he thanked Carter and us for bringing Crane right to his doorstep," Damian explains, "I called the others to come by and pick us up because you were...so still, Jon. And Carter told me before his body gave up...that you'd be alright. And I don't know how to feel about him being right about this because there are things he told me I don't want him to be right about," Damian admits.<br/>
<br/>
Jon raises an eyebrow but Damian shakes his head and that's that. He'd tell him when he was feeling up to it. Instead, he asks, "Andrew's dead?"<br/>
<br/>
Damian nods and Jon's shoulders slump the slightest bit. He hated Andrew, sure, but he had also become quite fond of the man. He had helped save their lives in the end.<br/>
<br/>
"What about Carter's shipments? Were those contained? How long have I even been out?" Jon asks.<br/>
<br/>
Damian replies, "It's been almost a week, Jon. Most of the shipments were caught but a few slipped by us. Selina and Cobblepot were able to have contacts in other areas pick them up, though. Everything was properly disposed of. Emilio, Carter's body guard, worked with the police and us to get those taken care of. He's taking over Carter's position now that he's...you know."<br/>
<br/>
Jon nods in understanding. They're quiet for the next few minutes. Despite him wanting to just curl up and fall asleep next to Damian he's curious about one more thing.<br/>
<br/>
"Dami, can you take off these bandages?"<br/>
<br/>
Damian's eyes snap up to his and they drift down to Jon's neck. Then, he carefully turns to kneel before Jon and reaches to the bandages. His fingers are shaking just the slightest bit when he unwraps the bandages from around Jon's throat. Jon keeps his head still until they fall into his lap. Damian swallows twice as he stares at the wound and reaches over to dig through the nightstand until he finds a compact mirror.<br/>
<br/>
It's rather ugly. The edges are jagged, the skin on and around it is still red, and it's much bigger than he thought it'd be. There's faint burn marks around it, most likely from the kryptonite. The stitches are really neat, though, and Jon assumes it was either Alfred or Dick that did them. They were the best out of all of them when it came to that sort of thing.<br/>
<br/>
"I kind of like it," Jon utters and Damian's eyebrows furrow.<br/>
<br/>
"You...like it? But it's...you almost <em>died</em>," Damian whispers, as if afraid saying the words out loud would make Jon drop dead. As if whatever deity that decided it wasn't Jon's time yet would change their mind if they heard such talk.<br/>
<br/>
Jon shrugs lightly. "It also shows that I didn't. Crane tried his damned hardest to get rid of me and it didn't work," he says.<br/>
<br/>
Damian shakes his head but begins to wrap the boy's throat again with new bandages to keep it covered and clean. Jon feels content as Damian settles back down next to him.<br/>
<br/>
They lay together for a while. Damian squeezes Jon's hand while Jon traces patterns and shapes over Damian's skin. He's damn happy they're finally getting a moment of peace for just them.<br/>
<br/>
That is quickly ruined when the door is pushed open and Jon makes a terrified noise with the back of his throat.<br/>
<br/>
Bruce and Clark are standing in the doorway. Diana looks at them with a raised eyebrow, lips thinned in displeasure. Clark has his Dad Look™ already on while Bruce looks a cross between furious and concerned.<br/>
<br/>
"Aw, hell," Jon rasps. Damian's eyes are wide and his face flushes as he looks between the three.<br/>
<br/>
"What-what are you doing back so early, father?" Damian asks with a nervous laugh. Jon can feel the combination of disappointment the three adults in the room are practically radiating but Jon's not sure how much they actually know. Knowing Damian's family, though, his siblings probably told them everything.<br/>
<br/>
Traitors.<br/>
<br/>
"Why is it that we had to hear from the news and <em>Jason</em>, of all people, about you two not only getting kidnapped by the Joker, but also running around after Scarecrow, letting out <em>criminals</em>, and nearly dying?" Bruce asks, voice dangerously cool.<br/>
<br/>
Jon can feel his life flashing before his eyes as the man's glare flits between the two of them. "I told you we had it under control, father-" Damian starts but the weight of three unimpressed looks has his words trailing off. Instead, he pouts and curls up closer to Jon's side.<br/>
<br/>
"I've certainly pulled some stupid stunts, son, but nothing like this," Clark says. Jon barks out a laugh but winces at the pain in his throat. He ignores the looks he gets and points at his father.<br/>
<br/>
"Don't lie, Pa. You've almost gotten yourself killed and done stupid shit plenty of times. All three of you!" Jon accuses.<br/>
<br/>
Damian nods along. "Besides, it was all Jon's fault!"<br/>
<br/>
Jon shoots Damian an incredulous look. "<em>What</em>?!"<br/>
<br/>
"It's true!"<br/>
<br/>
"Yeah, but you don't have to fuckin' tell them that right now!"<br/>
<br/>
"You may be my boyfriend, Kent, but I'm still not taking the fall for you in this matter."<br/>
<br/>
"You are <em>such</em> a little shit, Damian, I swear to God."<br/>
<br/>
Damian smirks and presses a kiss to Jon's cheek. They freeze when Diana clears her throat and looks at her guiltily.<br/>
<br/>
She tells them, amusement clear in her voice, "Be that as it may, Damian, you still went along with him. You're just as guilty as he is."<br/>
<br/>
Damian grumbles but doesn't look unhappy. That is, until Bruce clears his own throat and looks to Clark with an amused smile.<br/>
<br/>
"Diana is absolutely right which is why all of us have decided you're both going to be grounded."<br/>
<br/>
Jon and Damian look to them in shock. "What do you mean <em>grounded</em>?!" Damian demands furiously.<br/>
<br/>
"That means no patrols unless it's an emergency, no hanging out with friends after school, and certainly no dates for two weeks when you're all healed up," Clark ticks off three fingers. Jon groans and buries his face in Damian's hair.<br/>
<br/>
He bemoans, "This is <em>so</em> not fair! I didn't almost die for <em>this</em>!"<br/>
<br/>
Damian slaps his arm in reprimand and Jon glares. If Jason could joke about his death then Jon sure as hell could joke about his near death experience. Apparently, it was going to be the most exciting thing to happen to him for awhile.<br/>
<br/>
“This is unreasonable! Groundings are for children, not me!” Damian protests. Bruce squints at him in disbelief.<br/>
<br/>
“Damian, not even Jason has decided it’s a good idea to let out the patients of Arkham. It’s going to take weeks to get everyone back to where they belong.”<br/>
<br/>
Diana pats Bruce’s arm reassuringly and Clark throws an arm around the man’s shoulders. “Don’t worry, Bruce. We’ll help you out. We’ll have them rounded up in no time,” Diana says cheerfully. Bruce eyes them carefully but nods once in satisfaction.<br/>
<br/>
The three adults don't stick around for too long to let Jon keep resting. They allow Damian to stay with him and Jon sighs when they leave.<br/>
<br/>
"I bet Alfred never grounded Bruce," Jon complains but Damian snorts.<br/>
<br/>
He tells Jon, "Oh, yes he did. Still does, too, when father overworks himself."<br/>
<br/>
Jon and Damian stare at each other for a few seconds before snickering at the image those words bring. Batman-World’s Greatest Detective-being grounded.<br/>
<br/>
They eventually doze off together. The others pop in throughout the day for a visit and to chat but don't stay very long. When night comes around the house is empty of all but Alfred and Lois, and Damian and Jon lay in bed wide awake.<br/>
<br/>
"You know that promise from a while ago? About taking you up to Smallville to drink up that champagne?" Jon murmurs, voice wavering. Damian nods and meets his eyes.<br/>
<br/>
Damian replies, "Yeah, I remember."<br/>
<br/>
"Go find it. I'm too tired to fly us all the way over there right now but we can drink it here."<br/>
<br/>
Damian's eyes soften and he squirms out of Jon's arms. With a quick kiss to the boy's cheek the youngest Wayne is slipping out of the room in search of the stolen champagne.<br/>
<br/>
Jon really doesn't have to wait long until his boyfriend returns with the full bottle and two jackets. Jon raises an eyebrow when he spots the jackets and Damian smiles.<br/>
<br/>
"Let's go to the roof. I want to watch the stars with you," he says, and how can Jon say no to that?<br/>
<br/>
He slides out of bed unsteadily, legs a little weak from how little he's used them today. He takes a minute to get his blood flowing then walks over to where Damian waits patiently. They leave the room and are able to make their way up the stairs easily without having to worry about being caught by Lois or Alfred.<br/>
<br/>
Damian pushes open a door to a guest room and Jon follows. He watches Damian pull down the attic ladder and gesture to Jon.<br/>
<br/>
"After you, <em>darling</em>," Damian drawls playfully. Jon fakes a sneer but presses a kiss to Damian's cheek.<br/>
<br/>
"Thank you, <em>sweetheart</em>," he mocks and Damian laughs. Jon climbs the ladder easily, sore muscles aching but less painful than this morning. His throat still throbs painfully as well but it seems to be slowly healing, so Jon does his best to keep from jostling it too much. He hears Damian follow after him once he reaches the top.<br/>
<br/>
They move around boxes of old things that belong to the family and instead reach the window. Damian pushes it open and Jon steps forward. They wrap themselves around each other and Jon manages to fly them up to the roof but he's immediately exhausted afterwards.<br/>
<br/>
Damian hands Jon his jacket and Jon pulls it on with a grateful smile. Damian does the same and they pick a spot to seat themselves at. Jon pulls the cork from the champagne and they both shriek with laughter when it spills over them, bubbles overflowing.<br/>
<br/>
Soon enough they're passing the bottle to drink from. Their bodies press up against each other firmly from shoulders to their thighs. Damian squeezes Jon's hand rhythmically as they stare up at the moon in the cool air of the night.<br/>
<br/>
"I love you...." Damian whispers and Jon could just burst at the words. This is the boy he wants to spend the rest of his life with. Jon knows it in his heart and he refuses to let anything separate them. He'd do anything for Damian and Damian would do anything for him. He knows it.<br/>
<br/>
"I love you too, Dami. So fuckin' much," Jon mumbles shakily.<br/>
<br/>
Damian pulls him closer and they kiss.<br/>
<br/>
They kiss, and talk, and hold each other tight as they empty the bottle of champagne. And nothing could ever feel more right to Jon.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>That's all, folks! The very last chapter of this story. This has been absolutely so much fun to write out and I hope everyone else has had just as much fun reading it!</p><p>There's going to be a lot more in the series but this main story is officially finished. There will be major editing for this story (because I know the writing is a bit sloppier than I want) but that won't be anything worth checking back for and probably won't be for awhile.</p><p>I want to thank everyone who has commented and kudo'd because that motivated the hell outta me and totally made my days. Really didn't think this would get past twenty kudos tbh but I'm grateful to everyone who supported this story &lt;3</p><p>Have a wonderful day, everyone!</p>
        </blockquote></div></div>
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